The Last Companion: The Broken Shaman
by Chakat StarDust
Summary: The battle is over, but Hao is not dead. Broken in body and spirit, he waits to die, but is instead taken in by a very strange pair. Can they save him from his own darkness.CROSSOVER WITH DOCTOR WHO AND SEVERAL OTHER SHOWS!
1. Chapter 1

Wolf: New story! This is crossed over with the Shaman King anime/manga. I own nothing but the plot and my crazyass OCs!

Yoh Asakura twisted in his sleep, caught in the throes of a dream.

_He was in a dark place, there was no one around. _

'_Hello? Is anyone there?'_

'_**Yoh?' **__The voice echoed in his mind and all around him._

'_H-Hao? Is that you?' A wave of pain washed though his mind. He cried out at the feeling._

'_**Please, help me.' **__The voice was pleading, pain-filled. __**'Hurts. So cold.' **_

'_Hao, tell me where you are. Where are you?' Yoh cried desperately, feeling sick at the amount of pain that washed through his mind from Hao._

'_**so..so cold....' **__The voice faded away to nothing._

'_Hao? Where are you?'_

"Hao!" Yoh sat upright in his bed, panting. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom. He turned on the sink and splashed water on his face. He placed his hands on either side of the mirror and stared at his reflection. Ebony eyes stared back at him from a face framed by chestnut brown bangs. The face he shared with his twin, Hao. The twin that he killed a month ago. Yoh felt the familiar guilt wash over him. He hadn't wanted to kill him, but it was the only way to stop him. Yoh sighed at his reflection. 'It was just a dream, Hao is dead.' He went back to bed and was asleep immediately.

'_**Please, help me.' **_

Yoh went downstairs for breakfast. He was very tired. After the dream occurred again he couldn't get back to sleep. He sat quietly eating breakfast, his mind turning slowly. He had to know for sure.

"Ji-chan?" His grandfather looked up from his newspaper. "I need to go back to where the Shaman King tournament was held." His grandfather slowly put down the newspaper, a frown on his face.

"Why do you want to do that?" Yoh squirmed a little in his seat.

"I want to be sure that Hao is dead." He finally replied.

"Yoh, we know Hao's dead, nothing could survive what you put him through." Yoh's friend Horohoro told him through a mouthful of sausage. Anna smacked him over the head and scolded him.

"He's right Yoh, and besides, why would you ask this now? You know we're moving-" Anna was interrupted by Manta.

"Why are you moving again?"

"We keep getting attacked by enemies we made during the tournament, that's why. Moving will hopefully keep them off our backs." Yohmei stared at the boxes everywhere in the house. "I agree with Anna, Yoh, why bring this up now." Reluctantly, Yoh told them about the dreams last night. Everyone stared at him wide-eyed, making him squirm in embarrassment.

"You think these dreams mean he's alive." Yoh bit his lip and nodded.

"And even if they don't, maybe seeing that he is in fact dead for myself will make them go away." Yohmei closed his eyes to think.

"Alright." He finally sighed. "I suppose we could call Silva and ask him to take you there, but bring a weapon, we don't know what's out there."

~~~~~***~~~~~

Yoh stepped out of the helicopter. He stared around him. This was the where a month ago he had fought Hao for the fate of the world. He walked around in a circle, looking for some sign of Hao; a bloodstain, a grave, anything. There was nothing. He turned to look at Silva.

"I think I'm going to have a look in the woods over there, 'kay?" Silva looked at him and nodded. Yoh made sure Harusame was secure in his belt and began walking.

"Yoh, why are we going to the woods?" His spirit guardian, Amidamaru, asked.

"If Hao did survive, he'd need to hide somewhere, and since none of his followers who have attacked us seem to know where he is, it probably means he's still here somewhere. The woods would be a good place for him to conceal himself." Amidamaru nodded, agreeing with his young charge's logic. Yoh walked into the woods and closed his eyes, clearing his mind. He searched around for the presence of any other shaman. His eyes popped open as he felt a weak presence brush his mind.

'Hao?' He called mentally. There was no answer, just a rush of pain in Yoh's mind. He bit his lip and locked onto the feeling, following it back to its source.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao lay, shivering, on the cold stone floor of the cave. He was starving and so thirsty, but was too weak to move. He was dying, and was glad. When he had tried to absorb Yoh's soul, he had managed to absorb his brother's memories. When Yoh had injured him he had managed to get himself away and to this cave before collapsing into unconsciousness. He had awoken three days later, in more ways than one. The memories of his brother played in his mind and awakened him from the madness that had gripped him for so long, and for the first time in many years Hao had wept. His wound had gotten infected not long after. Hao managed to fight it off, but it kept recurring. This time he just didn't have the energy to fight anymore. He had no idea how long he had been there anymore. He was dimly aware of someone calling his name, but he ignored it; it was probably a hallucination. He imagined he heard footsteps coming to him and then jerked weakly when a warm hand touched his shoulder. He felt himself being turned onto his back. He whimpered at the pain this movement caused as he felt his upper body being lifted and pressed against a warm body. Opening his tired dark eyes, he stared up at his brother.

Hao's skin was cold and clammy, and had taken on an unhealthy greyish pallor. Hao was shivering violently and struggled to huddle closer to the warmer body of Yoh. His hair was matted and dull, his lips cracked and bloody. What was left of his poncho was wrapped around his chest and was tattered and bloody. His pants had fared no better and hung off Hao's emaciated frame. His feet were bare, dirty and cut up. Tear-tracks streaked through the dirt on his face and there were dark shadows under his eyes. Yoh stared into the eyes of his brother; eyes that held a mixture of pain, confusion and dull hopelessness.

"Y-yoh?" Hao asked in a hoarse voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, yeah it's me." Yoh swallowed past the lump in his throat. "I heard you calling to me in my sleep, so I came." Hao stared up at him, his eyes flickering with guilt and anguish.

"Sh-shouldn't have...come, sh-sh-should have let me.. let me.. I deserve..." Hao rested his head against Yoh's chest, eyes half closed, panting weakly, completely spent. Yoh pulled him closer and pressed his cheek against Hao's clammy forehead.

"Don't say that, don't ever say that. I know why you did what you did. I forgive you." Hao's head jerked up at this and he stared into his brother's gentle eyes, tears silently making their way down his cheeks. "I'm getting you out of here. I'm getting you help." Yoh said firmly. Hao moaned in pain as Yoh stood up with him cradled in his arms. Yoh murmured an apology before walking slowly out of the cave.

"Yoh, are you sure this is wise?" Amidamaru asked, concerned. Yoh looked at him helplessly.

"What else am I supposed to do?"

Silva's eyes nearly dropped out of their sockets as Yoh came walking up to the helicopter with Hao in his arms. Yoh ignored it and settled Hao into one of the airplane seats. Hao was still shivering violently.

"Do you have a blanket, Silva? And some water." Silva snapped out of his daze and did as Yoh asked.

"You actually found him?" Silva asked in disbelief as he handed Yoh a blue woollen blanket. Yoh nodded as he wrapped it carefully around Hao. Hao's shivers eased a little but he was still shaking. Yoh gave Silva a worried look. Silva gulped and, looking at Hao's half-closed, half blank eyes, pressed his knuckles against Hao's cheek. Hao flinched away from the contact and whimpered softly. Silva drew back and handed Yoh a water bottle. Yoh took it and pressed it against Hao's cracked lips, letting the water dribble into his mouth. Silva watched as Hao gulped the water greedily, little trickles washing down his chin.

"His skin is very cold." Silva finally said. Yoh said nothing. "I think he's dying."

"I know." Yoh said softly as Hao finished the water and closed his eyes, finally passing out. "I'm not going to let him die though, not while I can save him." Yoh clenched his jaw stubbornly and sat down in the helicopter. Silva smiled slightly and started up the copter.

"Your family's not going to be very happy about this." was all he said.

~~~~***~~~~

Silva was right. As soon as he stepped in the door with Hao unconscious in his arms, his grandfather exploded.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!??! YOU FOOL!!! HE IS THE ENEMY!! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME??!" Yoh ignored him and simply carried his unconscious brother into the living room. He set him down on the wooden floor, all the furniture had been packed away already, and tucked the blanket tighter around him.

"We should kill him now, before he kills us." Ren said. The rest of Yoh's friends and family murmured in agreement.

"It's not like he can hurt anyone in the state he's in, look at him." Yoh carefully placed a pillow under Hao's head as he began to stir once more. "He needs a doctor." He finished softly.

"He needs to be taken care of, permanently." Yoh's father, Mikihisa, walked into the room and folded his arms. "He is a dangerous psychopath and needs to be destroyed." Yoh could see Hao beginning to thrash weakly.

'_He can hear their thoughts; all the hate and fear, it must hurt him.' _Yoh stared in horror as his father drew a knife from inside his shirt.

"You would kill an unarmed boy who's unable to fight back. Look at him! He can't hurt us, he's not a threat."

"And we're going to keep it that way." Mikihisa replied and grabbed his son by the arm to drag him away.

Suddenly he paused as a strange whirring sound filled the air, growing louder by the second. Everyone drew their weapons as a tall blue box appeared out of nowhere in the living room.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf: Chapter 2! Oh, by the way, if you want to know more about the characters that appear in this chapter (my oc Lupe) read the rest of the Last Companion series. I own nothing but the plot and my insane oc.

The Doctor and Lupe charged into the TARDIS and slammed the door quickly behind them. Lupe leaned against the door and shook her head.

"Remind me to never make fun of a Roman soldier's uniform again." She said as she caught her breath. Tweak whistled his agreement from her shoulder bag. The Doctor merely grinned and sauntered over to the console. Lupe joined him and smiled at the picture taped to it. It was of Atem and Yugi, and their now three year old twins, Adjo and Aiko. The Doctor tapped away at the console.

"So where are we going now?" Lupe asked with a smile. He smiled back at her.

"Where else do we go after our adventures? To Torchwood of course." He replied and then sent the TARDIS spinning through the vortex, laughing wildly.

The TARDIS stopped with its familiar jerk. Lupe went to open the door but the Doctor called to her.

"Let me check the co-ordinates first, make sure we are where we're meant to be. You know how often those sorts of mistakes happen." Lupe rolled her eyes at him as he frowned at the computer. "See! I was right! We're in Tokyo, which isn't too bad of a flop, right time, wrong place." He said with a shrug and retyped the co-ordinates. He tried to start the TARDIS again but she refused to move. Lupe frowned and moved to the console.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know." The Doctor said, moving around the console. "We just did a tune-up last week, she shouldn't be acting up. What's wrong girl?" He asked the TARDIS.

'**We're needed here.'** Was all she would say to them. Lupe and the Doctor looked at each other, shrugged, and headed for the door.

~~~~***~~~~

The inhabitants of the Asakura household had completely forgotten about Hao, all their attention was focussed on the strange blue box. It hadn't moved, but they were taking no chances. They all had their weapons out and waited for something to happen. They tensed as the door cracked open a fraction and a face poked out. The eyes widened at the sight of all the weapons pointed at them. Cautiously the rest of the person emerged from inside the blue box.

It was a young girl, with short, wild white hair. Her eyes were aquamarine blue with a circle of molten gold around the pupil. She was only about the size of Yoh, with a tiny frame. She wore a light grey t-shirt with a purple pin-striped vest over top. Her pants were black straight jeans with a yellow star patch over her left knee and a red double heart patch on her right thigh. She had a beige shoulder bag with various buttons, stickers and keychains slung casually over one shoulder. She grinned, a distinctly cheeky grin.

"Hello, I'm Lupe, nice to meet you all." She moved forwards, arm outstretched. They all backed off and Ren stuck his Kwan Dao in her face.

"Stay where you are." He said. Her eyes widened and she grabbed the weapon just below the blade.

"Ooh, a Kwan Dao, favoured weapon of Chinese warlords." She looked up and addressed Bason. "It is yours?" He stared at her flabbergasted and could only nod. "Fifteenth century?"

"Never mind that, tell us who you are." Ren said angrily, pulling the Kwan Dao from her grasp. She yelped in pain as the movement caused the blade to slice open her palm. She stared at the deep cut as blood trickled down her wrist.

"Ren! You didn't have to do that!" Yoh cried. He watched as Lupe's eyes welled with tears. In the confusion that followed nobody noticed the tall, thin man slip out of the blue box; no one that is, except Hao.

~~~~~***~~~~~

As soon as Lupe had opened the door a smidge, the two of them knew what they were after. There was a telepath in that room, a very strong and untrained one. Lupe had gone out to cause a distraction so that the Doctor could figure out just where this telepath was and how to get whoever it was out of there. Slipping out unnoticed had been easy; he had the strange ability to make himself unnoticeable even in a crowd. He had found who they were looking for immediately. It was a boy with dark eyes and long chestnut hair lying wrapped in a blanket on the floor. The Doctor thought he looked sick. He made his way silently and slowly to the boy's side, eyes never leaving his face.

Hao stared at the strange man making his way over to him. There was something mysterious about him, something Hao couldn't quite put his finger on. He wasn't much to look at in Hao's opinion; tall, thin, gangly, with messy brown hair and wearing a scruffy grey pin-striped suit. But it was the man's eyes that caught Hao's attention; chocolate brown, they were dark and unreadable. Hao tried to gauge the mind behind those disquieting eyes but his heart gave a jolt when he realized that he couldn't read this man's mind.

"That's right." The man said in a soft English-accented voice. "Can't read my mind, can you?" The strange man knelt beside Hao and placed his fingers on his forehead. Hao jerked as he felt a presence enter his mind.

"It's all right." The man soothed. "I just want to see what happened, I won't hurt you." Hao felt himself grow calm under the steady, vast gaze of the man. He felt him sift through his memories quickly. Hao closed his eyes as the man went through the memories of all the destruction he caused. Finally, the man released Hao's mind with a sigh. Hao kept his eyes closed as tears seeped under his eyelids; he didn't want to see the horror and hate he was sure was on the man's face.

"Look at me." The voice was quiet, but commanding. Hao had no choice but to open his eyes to stare once again into those impenetrable chocolate orbs. He was startled not to find hate but sympathy and sorrow in those eyes.

"It's ok. We're going to help you." The man said and, slipping his hands under Hao's head and knees, lifted him into his arms.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Yoh had spotted the man and was watching him with a mixture of alarm and confusion in his eyes. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." He replied, unconcerned by the crowd of shamans now facing him with weapons in their hands. "He's coming with us." He said by way of explanation.

"And what makes you think we'll let you take him?" Yohmei asked, preparing his sprites for attack. The Doctor sniffed at him.

"Well, you don't want him here, so we'll take him off your hands. Win-win situation."

"What do you want with him?" Yoh asked, trying to hide the concern in his voice. The Doctor fixed him with his intelligent brown eyes. The Doctor saw not the hate and hostility in the rest of the assembled shamans' faces, but worry and alarm.

"We want to help him." Lupe said quietly. Yoh looked back at her in surprise. Her previously laughing eyes were now exuded a soft, gentle calm. Yoh found himself wanting to trust her, but he was still wary.

'**Y-Yoh..'** Hao's weak mind voice echoed in Yoh's head. Yoh looked over at Hao, staring into his exhausted eyes. **'It's...ok...trust...them...' **Hao's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted, energy completely spent. Yoh sighed softly.

"Let them take him." He said, startling his friends and family. "Like he said, you don't want him here anyways and it's not like they know where we're moving to." He finished tonelessly.

"He has a point..." Horohoro said reluctantly. Yohmei snorted and moved closer to the Doctor.

"I want you to promise he will never darken our doorway again." He snarled at the tall man. The Doctor looked down at him with unreadable eyes.

"I won't promise anything, he is not our prisoner. Once we've helped him to the best of our abilities he is free to go where he wishes, and that is not going to change." With that the Doctor swept back into the TARDIS with Lupe in tow and shut the door. The TARDIS began to whir and in a matter of seconds had disappeared, leaving everyone to wonder what exactly had just transpired.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Lupe hurriedly tapped the co-ordinates into the TARDIS' console. They needed to get Hao to a doctor, fast.

"How's he doing?" She called.

"I think he's coming to again." The Doctor replied with surprise. "He's a scrappy little thing, aren't you?" He addressed the now partially conscious Hao. "Not willing to give in just yet." The Doctor sat down in order to reduce the amount of jolting caused by TARDIS travel. Lupe got the TARDIS going and Hao jerked weakly as the TARDIS took off with a jolt. The Doctor softly soothed him as the TARDIS jolted to a stop and then stood up quickly, walking briskly out the door.

"Yugi! Yugi!" A small man with spiky, tri-coloured hair emerged. "We have a patient for you." The Doctor said, laying Hao on the operating table in the infirmary. Hao stared up into gentle violet eyes.

"Hello there, my name is Yugi. I'm going to help you as best I can, ok?" Yugi stroked the injured shaman's forehead, brow furrowing in concern at the coldness of his skin. Yugi gently unwrapped the makeshift bandage from around Hao's upper body and let out a hiss of sympathy. The ugly wound was in the center of his chest and stretched from the base of his throat and travelled all the way down to his waist. The scab had turned a sick green-black colour and pus oozed from underneath it. The skin around the wound was red and swollen. His ribs jutted out from under his skin. Hao whimpered when Yugi touched the edge of the scab.

"Oh, you poor boy." Yugi breathed, stroking Hao's hair. "Gods..." Yugi's voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears at the sight of Hao's pain and sickness ravaged body.

"Can you help him?" Lupe asked quietly.

"I can try, but...I can't guarantee he'll make it." Yugi replied helplessly. He picked something off the nearby table. Hao's eyes widened at the sight of a syringe.

"I'm going to try to get the infection out, but it's going to be painful." Yugi tapped the syringe. "This is a sedative, it's just going to put you to sleep while I work, ok?" Hao nodded weakly in understanding. He felt the prick of the needle and then darkness took him away.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	3. Chapter 3

Wolf: I own nothing but the plot and my crazy little ocs!

As Hao came to he became aware of two things. One, he was on a bed of some kind. And two, his skin felt like it was burning. It was like someone had put him in a furnace and turned up the heat. Hao wondered distantly if he was in hell. All the sudden he felt a wet cloth being pressed against his forehead. He gasped at the cold it brought, but it truth the chill felt wonderful against his fevered skin. He slowly opened his eyes as the cloth skimmed over his face and exposed throat. His vision was blurry, but he could just make out a face leaning over him, with a halo of white hair and light around it.

"A-are you an angel?" He asked hoarsely, his voice sounding slurred and far away. The angel laughed; a soft, bright sound.

"You're not dead yet, sweetie." Her voice echoed strangely in his ears as the darkness pulled him back in again.

~~~~~***~~~~~

The next time Hao woke up the burning had faded. He still felt hot, but it was now bearable. The fog that had previously encased his mind seemed to have lifted somewhat. He tried to sit up, but his arms were too weak to support him. He could feel something in his left arm and let his eyes travel down there. There was an IV in the crook of his elbow. Hao's eyes followed the tube to a hanging bag of clear liquid, frowning slightly in confusion.

"It's a nutrient drip." A voice said. Hao turned his head to stare at the tall man, the Doctor, standing in the doorway with a small metal tray in his hands. "You were severely malnourished; we needed some way to get you the nutrients you needed so that your body didn't shut down, and so we hooked you up to an IV drip that ran the nutrients straight into your bloodstream." The Doctor explained gently.

"How..." Hao swallowed; his throat was dry as a bone and his voice had come out as a hoarse croak. "How long have I been out of it?" He asked.

"Three days." The Doctor replied, moving to sit at Hao's side with the tray. Hao stared at the bandages and the two syringes on it, eyes flicking to the Doctor's face. The Doctor saw his look and smiled kindly.

"The needle has an antibiotic in it; that's what's helping your body fight off the infection that your wound had in it." He explained. "You're not going to fight me, are you?" Hao shook his head slowly.

"Don't have the energy to fight." He said tiredly, slumping into the pillows. He watched the Doctor slip the needle into his right arm and inject the antibiotic into his bloodstream. "What's the other?"

"It's pain medication." And Hao realized at that moment that he was in pain, a dull, throbbing pain that went through his whole upper body. He didn`t fight when the Doctor stuck that needle into his arm. Immediately the drug began to take effect. His awareness began to dim as the Doctor changed the bandages on his chest and torso. He tried to fight it, but his eyelids didn`t want to stay open. He felt the Doctor rest his hand on his head.

"Rest. It will help your body heal." Hao nodded weakly and then slipped back into oblivion.

~~~~~***~~~~~

He woke up again and sat up. For a moment he had no idea where he was, but it soon came back to him. He sagged back against the pillows, wondering how long he had been out this time. He thought maybe he had woken up a couple more times, but his sense of time was screwed up, probably from the fever and drugs. He rubbed his face with his hands and realized that the IV had been taken out. He looked around the room he was in for the first time. The walls were painted a tranquil, deep-sea blue. The ceiling was painted black, with white dots that he recognised as constellations of stars. There was an oak dresser in the one corner and an oak desk in the other along with a tall bookshelf. A cozy looking black beanbag chair sat next to the bookcase. The bed that he was lying on had a dark blue comforter and black sheets. The overall effect gave the room a dark, but comforting feel.

Slowly, Hao got up and out of bed. A small wave of dizziness overtook him, but it faded after a moment. He looked down at himself. He was dressed only in green plaid pyjama pants. His chest was covered in bandages. His bangs tickled his face and he noticed that they were shorter; in fact all his hair was shorter. Where it used to hang down to his waist, it now only went just past his shoulders and his bangs went down to his chin, much like his brother. _'Where is Yoh? Where am I?'_ He asked himself. _'I need answers.'_ Carefully, so as not to lose his still iffy balance, he walked out of the bedroom in order to find the Doctor.

The corridors were strange; they appeared to have coral growing out of the walls. He could hear soft voices from somewhere ahead of him, one the Doctor's, the other a half-remembered female voice. Hao ventured further. A low laugh drifted out of a doorway ahead of him and, gulping slightly, he headed that way. The doorway opened up into a sunflower yellow kitchen with cream tiling. Two people sat at a small table in the middle of the kitchen. One was the Doctor and the other was a small girl with soft, short, wild, snow-white hair. One of her ears flicked back towards him and he gasped; her ears were those of a wolf. She and the Doctor turned to him at his gasp and he saw that her eyes were aqua blue with a circle of molten gold around the pupil. She smiled at him, showing off pointed canines.

"Hello, sleepy-head. Finally decided to get out of bed, then?" Her voice held laughter, but it was kind laughter. He shuffled slightly, suddenly shy under their scrutiny.

"Well, come and have a seat. We'll get you some breakfast." The Doctor said cheerily. Hao went to sit down and got another surprise. Sitting on its haunches on the table with a cheerio clasped in its foreclaws was a cat-sized silver dragon. The dragon looked at him with green, cat-like eyes, whistled softly and daintily nibbled at the cheerio. Hao stared open-mouthed at the tiny creature before him; between him and the wolf-girl he was having trouble coping.

"That's Tweak, he's very friendly." The girl said, placing a plate with scrambled eggs, buttered toast and hash browns in front of him. "Eat up, we need to put some meat on them bones." She said with a teasing smile. "I'm Lupe, by the way." Hao realized he was gawking at her ears and looked away. Lupe merely chuckled.

"Want to touch them?" She asked. He looked at her, shocked. She inclined her head, leaning her one ear towards him. Dazed, he gently tugged it and rubbed his thumb against the soft, short fur of it.

"They're real." He finally said. Lupe nodded and went back to eating her breakfast. Hao looked down at his plate, thoughts in turmoil.

"Why did you save me?" He finally asked. "I'm not worth saving." The Doctor and Lupe looked at him, eyes completely shocked.

"You saw it, my memories, the things I did. How can you stand to be in the same room as me?!" Hao's voice took on a desperate, anguished tone. Lupe slipped her hand into his and squeezed gently. He stared into her not quite human eyes and felt himself calm down a little.

"But, we also know why you did it." Hao opened his mouth to ask a question but Lupe beat him to it. "Yes he told me, we tell each other everything. But that's beside the point. Hao, do you know how many human telepaths there are in the world?" He shook his head. "About 3000." He stared at her. "In a species that has about 6.5 billion members, that it extremely low, and it always has been. It is for this reason that telepaths in humans are very rarely taught to control their ability, there's just no one to teach them. Unfortunately this means that human telepaths are subject the subconscious thoughts of all the people around them. Human telepaths almost always die; either by their own hand or by those around them that are threatened by their ability, or they are driven mad by it. You got the latter option; you were driven mad by the thoughts of others. Can hardly blame you, Japan was in tough times back then; disease, war, death. At those times humans are consumed by hatred, anger and fear. Having to listen to those types of thoughts day after day; eventually you went mad, convinced that humans didn't deserve to live."

Hao stared at her in complete silence. She, Yoh and the Doctor were the first people to look beyond the pain he had caused to see the pain in his own eyes. He put his head down on the table and cried. He heard the scraping of chairs and felt two pairs of arms wrap around his shoulders. He tensed for a moment, but soon relaxed into the comforting embrace. After about ten minutes he stopped sobbing. He lifted his head, still snuffling softly and looked into two pairs of concerned eyes.

"What am I going to do? I can't control it, if I go back out there, I'll just lose myself again." Hao sniffed, thin shoulders shaking.

"Humans aren't the only ones with telepathic abilities. The Doctor and I are also telepathic, but our kind has natural mental barriers to block others' thoughts if we don't want to hear them." Hao looked to Lupe and the Doctor, a thin ray of hope forming in his heart.

"Can you teach me?" His heart sank as Lupe and the Doctor shook their heads.

"There is someone who can though." Lupe said. "Our friend, Deanna Troi, she should be able to do so."

"When...when can we see her?" Hao asked.

"Whenever you're ready." The Doctor said.

"I want to get started right away." Lupe and the Doctor nodded.

"Finish your breakfast first." Lupe told him. He smiled and complied happily.

"Oh, by the way, sorry about your hair." Lupe said, running her fingers through what was left of it. Hao looked up at her, mouth full, questioningly. "We had to cut it. It was so matted and no matter how hard we tried we couldn't get them out. It will grow back though." Hao swallowed.

"It's ok." He brushed his hand absently through his bangs. "It's different, but I kind of like it."

After breakfast Lupe and the Doctor led the way to the console room, which Hao remembered dimly. Lupe and the Doctor began to fiddle with the console after telling Hao not to touch anything.

"Activating tracer signal for the Enterprise." Lupe called.

"Setting time co-ordinates for two weeks after last visit." The Doctor called back. "Better brace yourself." He told Hao with a manic grin.

"For what?"

"This." Lupe replied, throwing a switch. The TARDIS gave a jerk and went spinning off into the Time Vortex.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Wolf: Hello, is anyone out there? Besides leo112? Anyways I own nothing but the plot and my ocs.

Hao staggered and fell to the floor as the TARDIS jolted to a stop. He stared round-eyed at his two laughing companions. He stood up and brushed himself off, struggling to compose himself.

"So how did you like that?" Lupe asked cheekily. Hao shrugged nonchalantly.

"It wasn't so bad."

"Liar. I saw your face, you were scared." Lupe laughed, but it was a friendly, teasing laugh, and Hao's tension eased and he smiled sheepishly.

"Ok, I was a little scared. What exactly did you just do?"

"Time travel. Well, time and space actually." The Doctor replied, not looking up from the console.

"Time travel's not possible." Hao said, eyes wary. 'Were they making fun of him?'

"We're not, I promise." Lupe put her hand on his shoulder. Hao realized that she stood no taller than he did. "You need to open your mind a little bit, 'kay?" Hao nodded.

"Excellent, exactly where we should be." The Doctor said. He grabbed his tan overcoat and headed for the door. "I'll get Miss Troi, and you get him presentable, alright?" Lupe nodded, and he grinned fondly at her before bounding from the TARDIS.

"Come on you, let's get you into some suitable clothes, shall we?" Lupe said, leading Hao gently by the arm further into the ship. She opened the door to what was an enormous walk-in closet.

"Holy, how much clothes do you have?" he asked.

"Oh, this is only for when we regenerate or have guests, you know?" Lupe replied, rifling through the hangers full of clothes. 'Regeneration?' Hao thought, but the wolf-girl didn't elaborate.

"Ah ha!" She finally crowed and threw a pile of clothes at him. He caught it easily, he still had perfect reflexes, and inspected them. It was a pair of blue jeans with a simple white button up top and black high top converse.

"Bathroom's next door.' Lupe said. Hao nodded and carried the clothes into the bathroom. Once inside, he stared at his face in the mirror. A gaunt, wrecked face stared back at him. There were dark shadows under his eyes and the eyes themselves looked bloodshot and anguished. He turned away from the mirror and put on the clothes Lupe had given him, hoping to whatever gods were out there that this woman could help him.

~~~~***~~~~

The Doctor and Lupe were chatting happily with a dark-haired woman in the kitchen when Hao emerged. The woman looked up at his approach and Hao found himself looking into eyes almost as dark as his.

"This is him?" The woman asked. Lupe and the Doctor nodded solemnly. The woman stood up and walked over to Hao. She cupped his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. Hao realized that he couldn't read her mind either.

"Such pain." The woman sighed after a moment. "Come sit." Hao sat down across from her.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"This is Deanna Troi, the one we told you about, remember?" The Doctor said. Hao nodded.

"You can help me?" He asked her. She nodded.

"The Doctor has informed me of your past. On my planet we had some like you, some that were unable to shield themselves from the emotions of others. It makes me sad. I will help you in any way I can." She turned to the Doctor and Lupe. "May we be left alone? This works best if they are left with little distraction the first little while." She explained.

"We'll go have tea with the good captain. He was quite disappointed that this wasn't a social call." The Doctor said with a laugh and, linking arms with Lupe, sauntered out of the room. An awkward silence fell when they left.

"How much did they tell you about me?" Hao finally asked quietly. "Did they tell you I was a murderer?" His fists clenched.

"Yes, they did tell me that, but what I've seen and what I can sense from your mind is not malice, but despair and self-loathing." Deanna said. "I see that you are sorry and are distressed by what you've done, and that is enough to make me want to help you from ever descending to that madness again." Hao stared at her, not really sure what to say. Deanna smiled gently at him.

"Now then, I know about you but you don't know about me. I'm Deanna Troi, I'm half human, half Betazoid."

"That's.. an alien?" Hao asked, remembering what the Doctor had said about space travel. Deanna nodded.

"We're an empathetic species, we can sense emotions. When we are young we are taught a technique to control this ability. It is considered rude to eavesdrop on others' minds on many planets." Hao nodded.

"And... you're going to teach me this technique?" Deanna nodded with a smile.

"The technique is fairly simple, the trick is to be able to do it without thinking, that is what requires training." She said. "The technique is simply envisioning a wall around your mind that thoughts cannot penetrate."

"And that really works?" Hao asked.

"It works for me." Deanna stated. Hao took a deep breath.

"Then teach me."

~~~~~***~~~~~

Deanna worked with him for about an hour. In that time he mastered putting a wall up around his mind that kept thoughts out. The problem was keeping it up when Deanna would talk to him or try to distract him. She said he was making good progress.

"Ok." Deanna said after Hao lost concentration for the umpteenth time. "I think that's enough for today."

"No, no, let's keep going." Hao insisted. Deanna looked into his exhausted eyes and noted the slightly greyish pallor of his skin. She shook her head at him.

"You are still recovering from your injuries. You need to take it easy." She replied and stood up. "I will go inform the Doctor and Lupe that our session is over." Hao nodded reluctantly and escorted her to the door. He waited by the door while she collected his strange companions, not wishing to go outside and be exposed to the thoughts of others. After a minute Deanna came back with a maniacally grinning Doctor and Lupe.

"So, how'd it go?" Lupe asked.

"He did very well, for a beginner." Deanna turned and addressed Hao. "You can practice on your own, wherever, whenever. Work on getting it so that you don't even have to consciously think about keeping the wall up, that is the ultimate goal." Hao nodded.

"Thank you." Deanna smiled and gently kissed his forehead.

"I will see you again soon." She replied and stepped out of the TARDIS. Hao stared after her and sighed.

"Better hold onto something Hao, we're going back to the Hub now." The Doctor said behind him. Hao had just enough time to grab a piece of coral coming out of the floor before the TARDIS spun off into the time vortex.

This time when the TARDIS landed with a thump Hao was ready and merely fought to keep his balance instead of losing it completely. The Doctor rushed past him and poked his out the door. Hao heard someone call out a greeting. The Doctor said something back to whoever it was and then closed the TARDIS door again.

"Now then." He said, rubbing his hands together. "I think we have a bit of explaining to do. We know who you are, but you don't know who we are."

"We'll just give a basic explanation for now. Deanna's right, you need to rest, alright?" Hao nodded, quelling his stubbornness.

"I know your names. You're Lupe and the Doctor, and you're time and space travellers." Hao said to them. The Doctor's eyes lit up merrily.

"Ooh, he's a smart one, isn't he?" Lupe nodded her agreement. "Go on."

"I'm going to assume because of that fact that you two are aliens of some kind." The Doctor clapped his hands in approval.

"Brilliant! Molto bene! You figured it out all on your own, oh that is brilliant." The Doctor laughed happily. "But," He continued, holding up a long, slender finger. "Let's get into specifics. We are what are known as Time Lords. That is our species name."

"I also have a bitty amount of human and wolf DNA in my genome, that is why I have these." Lupe added, wiggling her wolf ears and wagging her plumed tail. "But, that is a story for another day." She placed her hands on his shoulders. "Go rest." She ordered. Hao opened his mouth to argue, but the look in her strange blue-gold eyes made him think better of it. He turned and headed back to the room that he had woken up in, his room, he supposed. He stripped down to his boxers and lay down, looking up at the stars on the ceiling. They appeared to move and Hao supposed that it was some kind of alien technology making that possible. Hao let his eyes slowly drift closed and slipped into darkness.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	5. Chapter 5

Wolf: I own nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing!

Hao sat up abruptly, biting back a scream. Panting he struggled to catch his breath. He had dreamed, memories, really. All the people he had hurt, had killed, their screams echoed in his head. He got up out of his bed and stumbled to the bathroom. He threw up in the toilet, retching miserably. He felt warm hands on his shoulders, holding back his hair as he continued to heave until his belly was emptied of his breakfast. When he was down he scrubbed his mouth clean then turned to face the worried brown eyes of the Doctor.

"You all right?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah, must of been something I ate." Hao lied. They didn't need to know, this was his burden to bear. The Doctor's piercing eyes stared into him, but he didn't ask further. Instead he smiled and held out his hand.

"Well, let's go find you something to eat that won't upset your stomach and we can talk some more. I'm sure you still have loads of questions." Hao took the Doctor's hand and let him lead him to the kitchen.

After a simple meal of soup and buttered toast, Lupe and the Doctor led Hao into their den. The walls were chocolate brown and there was a massive flatscreen TV surrounded by a large collection of DVDs stuffed into shelves. Lupe laughed at his expression.

"We like movies." She explained. "We often just take a day and have a movie marathon, just for kicks." Hao wondered what it would be like to do something 'just for kicks' and decided that he wanted to find out. He smiled.

"I like it. When are you going to have another?" The Doctor grinned cheerfully.

"Could have one right now if you'd like." Hao shook his head.

"I'd like answers right now." The Doctor and Lupe nodded and sat down on the plush black couch. Hao sat in a reclining chair next to them, watching them.

"What would you like to know?' The Doctor asked.

"Lupe mentioned something about regeneration. What is that?"

"It's a Time Lord trick. Sort of a way of cheating death, really." The Doctor said. "When a Time Lord's dying we change." Hao raised his eyebrow. "Let me rephrase that. Essentially, when we're dying, we become a completely new person in order to prevent ourselves from dying." Hao stared at him, mouth open.

"You're serious?!" Lupe and the Doctor nodded. "That's incredible! Are you immortal, then?" The Doctor and Lupe shook their heads.

"We get thirteen, well, lives." Lupe explained. "But we are very long lived. The Doctor is over nine hundred years old." Hao's eyes grew very wide.

"N-nine hundred!?!" He stammered. The Doctor grinned cheekily.

"Spry for my age, aren't I?" Hao just stared, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

"A-and you?" He finally managed to stammer out, looking at Lupe.

"I'm twenty." Hao was still shocked. She looked like she was a teenager, no older than he was! The Doctor and Lupe let him absorb this information for a minute. Finally, Hao got a hold of himself.

"Umm, okay. Lupe, where did the human and wolf DNA come from?" Lupe smiled.

"That is a bit of a story to tell. It also is the story of how I met him." Lupe said, jerking her head at the Doctor, who smiled gently at her. "Do you want to hear it?" Hao nodded.

"Alright, so it all began..."

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao stared at the Doctor and Lupe with new fascination as their story finished. The things they'd done, the things they'd seen! It was all so incredible.

"You guys are incredible." Hao shook his head, wonder in his voice. "Travelling the universe... amazing."

"You can come with us, if you'd like." The Doctor invited. Hao shook his head.

"I can't go out there again." He said, fear creeping into his voice. "I can't.. all those thoughts..."

"Yes, but we're working on that right?" Lupe said. "Soon you won't have to hear those thoughts, if you don't want to." Hao realized she was right. Soon he would be free of all that. He smiled.

"Then yes, when I have learned to control my abilities, then I will join you on your gallivanting." Lupe and the Doctor grinned at him, pleased.

"Wonderful. We love having company. We'll have to show you the moons of Perth, the galaxy rising over Beeble 6 and-" The Doctor paused as his stomach gurgled. "Whoopie! I guess it's time for dinner. Hao, will you be able to keep down pasta?" Hao nodded. "Brilliant! To the kitchen, then."

Hao helped to make dinner. He found he actually enjoyed it, too. Especially with Lupe and the Doctor happily chattering away with him and each other. He had even helped with the dishes afterwards, something he had never done. He found it easy to be around the Doctor and Lupe. They didn't expect anything of him and they didn't fear him. It was something new and Hao found he quite enjoyed it. He struggled to find the right word to describe it and finally hit upon it; friends, that's what they were, friends.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao awoke with a gasp. It was the middle of the night and he'd had another nightmare. Quietly he got out of bed and went into the bathroom. He washed his face in the sink and then stared at his reflection in the mirror. Tormented thoughts swirled in his head.

'_Killed them, killed them all and for what? You can't be saved, you can't be changed. You're nothing but a murderer. Nothing but a killer, a monster. Killer...murderer... monster...monster....MONSTER!'_

Hao staggered back, clutching his head and whimpering softly. _'Don't deserve to live, don't deserve to be saved.'_ Shaking hands pulled open the drawers under the sink. He rummaged around before finding what he wanted. He shook a single razor blade out of the package and held it up to his face, eyes almost blank. He placed the razor against his wrist and drew it slowly across his skin. He hissed softly and watched the blood well up in the cut he had made. He made another, and another; perfectly parallel lines in his skin. He stared at the three cuts on his arm, seemingly hypnotised by the blood running down his wrist. He pressed his finger into one of the cuts. The hot sting loosened something in his stomach.

He needed to be punished for his crimes, even if it was only him punishing himself.

* * *

Wolf: Well, there it is. Review plz!


	6. Chapter 6

Wolf: More, more, more! Sorry! SUGAR!! I OWN NOTHING!!

The next month followed a pattern. During the day Hao practiced with Deanna, the Doctor and Lupe or on his own. He was getting much better at shielding his mind. He was almost to the point where he didn't even have to think about it and it was there. Almost. Some days the three companions watched movies, some days they read aloud to each other. Hao had even been coaxed outside on more than one occasion.

_/Flashback/_

"_It's so early, why did you wake me up?" Hao asked, yawning widely as Lupe practically dragged him through the corridors. _

"_You'll see." Lupe came to the door and opened it. Hao dug in his heels, panicking._

"_I can't go outside, Lupe!" _

"_It's ok, there's no one out here, we checked." Lupe reassured. Hao reluctantly followed her outside and gasped. They were standing by the edge of a cliff upon which breakers crashed and rolled. Hao looked out over the vast ocean, watching as the lightening sky turned it beautiful colours. Hao sat down next to Lupe and the Doctor and watched the sun rise with them._

"_This spot in the other world is where Rose's dad lives." Lupe explained. "We come here a lot to watch the sunrise because it's so beautiful and peaceful. Hao only nodded, drinking in the cool, salty sea air. The peaceful scene banished memories of the nightmares from the night before and all he felt was peace._

_/End Flashback/_

Hao had been told about the other world where Rose and the Doctor's sort-of brother lived. Hao was learning very quickly to expect the unexpected around these two.

_/Flashback/_

"_Who are they?" Hao asked, pointing at the picture attached to the console. The picture was obviously of a family. A young man with black-spiked, scarlet-tipped, blond-banged hair and wide violet eyes sat with his arm around another young man who looked very similar but with gold streaking up through the black of his hair, tanned skin and narrower crimson eyes. A small boy sat in the violet eyed man's lap. The child had wide violet eyes and soft features like the man whose lap he was sitting on, but the tanned skin and hair of the other man. The crimsoned eyed man had a small girl sitting on his lap. The little girl had crimson eyes, pale skin and hair patterned like the violet-eyed man, but instead of spikes it fell softly to her shoulders in choppy layers. It was obvious the two children were twins._

"_The two men are Yugi and Atem Sennen, partners. Those are their children; Aiko and Adjo." The Doctor replied, looking at the picture fondly. "Very good friends of ours."_

"_Who's the mother?" Hao asked._

"_Yugi." Lupe replied. Hao blinked at her._

"_How?" Lupe shrugged._

"_Don't ask us, it happened though."_

"_Did you see the delivery?" Hao asked, curious as to how a boy could give birth. They shook their heads._

"_We were there-"_

"_Just weren't allowed in-"_

"_Heard Yugi scream when we got to the Hub-"_

"_Thought someone was being killed-"_

"_Labour took 5 hours-"_

'_**Then**__ we were allowed in-"_

"_I got to hold Aiko-"_

"_Never held anything so tiny-"_

"_They're growing up so fast." The Doctor and Lupe sighed. "You'll have to meet them, once you're feeling up to facing the world again." Hao smiled._

"_Yeah, sure."_

_/End Flashback/_

The Doctor and Lupe told stories too, to pass the time. The Doctor had almost a thousand years worth of adventures and Lupe had about four years with the Doctor, so between them they had a lot to tell.

The nights, however, were another story. Hao rarely had a night where he didn't have a nightmare. When he did wake up, most nights he went straight to the bathroom and got out a razor blade. His arms were covered in healing cuts and thin silvery scars. He wore long sleeves to hide them; he didn't want anyone to see, certainly not the ever-cheerful Lupe and the Doctor. And so he hid, putting on a smiling face for his companions, while inside the pain was slowly killing him.

Hao gasped as the nightmare released him from its deadly embrace. He got up and immediately headed for the bathroom, voices tormenting him inside his head. Cutting was the only way to silence the voices, the only one he knew that worked. He sighed in relief as the razor cut his skin, the pain drowning out the accusing voices. All the sudden he heard a soft gasp behind him. Razor clattering to the floor, he slowly turned to meet the horrified eyes of Lupe. Lupe quickly moved forward to wrap her hand around the wound, stopping the bleeding. She dug in the cabinet behind the mirror, finding gauze to wrap around the cut.

"Oh, gods. We should have known something like this would happen." She moaned softly. "Hao.." She softly stroked his hair, looking at him sadly. Hao couldn't look her in the eyes. "Come on." Lupe gently led him to hers and the Doctor's bedroom. Hao knew they slept together, he also knew that it was purely a comfort thing, the need to feel someone close to them.

"Doctor." Lupe said quietly. The Doctor sat up in bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Yes, what's wrong." He said, seeing the upset look on her face.

"Look." She said, pulling Hao's sleeves up to reveal the numerous scars and scabs.

"Oh ,Hao." The Doctor said, soft, dark eyes on Hao's. "Why?"

"Why?" Hao suddenly felt anger boil up inside him. "How could you understand? You, with the goofy grins and carefree lives, you who've never known this kind of pain." He turned away, not wanting to look at them, to know that he'd hurt someone yet again.

"Hao." Hao didn't turn. "Hao, look at me." Hao couldn't ignore the command in the Doctor's voice. He reluctantly turned and met the Doctor's tired, sorrowful, ancient eyes. "You don't know how wrong you are." The Doctor whispered.

"We never told you about the sorrows in our past because we did not want to add to your burden." Lupe said sadly, sitting on the bed. "I think now we should." She patted the spot next to her. Hao sat down and Lupe and the Doctor immediately wrapped and arm around him. Hao was used to this; he never used to like being touched much, but when you live with people (especially Lupe) who happened to be fairly touchy-feely, you adapted. Hao now leaned into the touch, wanting some form of comfort. The voices were back, the echoes of his victims accusing him. The Doctor started to talk, telling him about the Time War and the aftermath. He told him about Rose and about losing her, finding her again and then losing her once more. He finally told him about losing Donna and how he was alone after that.

"I was alone for a year, before I met Lupe and found reason to live again."

"But, you didn't do what I've been doing." The Doctor laughed sadly at Hao's remark.

"I would have, but the TARDIS prevented me from getting near sharp objects. She always did look after me so." The Doctor's smile did not reach his eyes. Hao looked at the man who had sacrificed his species for the sake of the universe. Lupe finally broke the silence.

"My story is not nearly as long or as immense as his, but it still weighs on me. I told you how I was created in a lab as a human-wolf hybrid. What I didn't tell you is that there were others. There were twelve of us, all different animals. We actually escaped the lab, when we were twelve. It was my idea and so it was me who signed their death warrant. The scientists killed them all, all but me out, of revenge. I couldn't try to hurt myself, they'd just drug me or lock me up more securely and I needed to be able to escape again, so I could make sure those cruel men could never hurt anyone ever again." Lupe's eyes filled with tears. "I led my family to their deaths. How can I ever forgive myself?" She whispered. Hao hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him, sobbing softly.

"It's not your fault, it's not."

"It's not **your** fault either." Came Lupe's muffled reply.

"Then whose fault is it?" He asked.

"No one's." The Doctor replied. "Hao, do you know what a cornered animal does? It lashes out at its captors, because it's afraid, because it doesn't know what else to do. Hao, you are that cornered animal."

Hao thought about that, thought about the times he had felt so helpless, so frightened and had no way out.

"That doesn't make it right." He said finally.

"No." Lupe replied, looking at him with watery eyes. "But it doesn't make you a monster either." She hugged him then, and the knots in his stomach eased, and the accusing voices faded into nothingness. "You're not evil, never think that, never. All right?" Hao nodded, unable to speak. Finally he pulled away from Lupe's embrace and looked at the two of them.

"Thank you." He said. "Do you think... Can I stay here tonight?" He asked nervously. Both Lupe and the Doctor smiled gently at him.

"Of course you can." Hao climbed into the bed. The Doctor drew the blankets over the three of them. As Hao began to doze he felt two pairs of arms slip around him protectively. He smiled.

That night there were no more dreams.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	7. Chapter 7

Wolf: I own nothing of the multiple TV shows that happen to be a part of this story. Nope! I only own the plot and my crazy-ass ocs.

Hao woke up sandwiched between two warm bodies. Not opening his eyes, he lay quietly, listening to the Doctor and Lupe's soft double heart beats. Finally his stomach announced its hunger very loudly. Lupe let out a soft noise of amusement and the Doctor chortled softly. The three of them sat up in the bed. The Doctor stood up and stretched, hands touching the ceiling. Lupe wolf-stretched on the bed, yawning widely, canines glinting and then shook herself and got out of bed. Hao stretched and finger-combed his hair as the Doctor led the way to breakfast. No one spoke about last night during breakfast.

"I want to apologize." Hao said. The Doctor and Lupe gave him twin looks of confusion. "I was a bit of an ass last night." The Doctor swallowed his bite of raspberry pancake.

"You were upset, I'm not going to blame you for lashing out. Done a fair bit of that in the past myself, especially in my ninth regeneration." The Doctor gave him a stern look. "We do have to set some new ground rules though. Number one – if you are feeling low, come find one of us. If we're not in for some reason watch a comedy and eat a pint of ice cream- no, sorry, that's what girls do when their dumped." Hao snickered. "Number two – talk to us. We can't help you if we don't know what's wrong. Finally, if you have a nightmare and are feeling freaked, don't hesitate to come settle down with us. We don't mind sharing the bed. Are we clear?"

"I think I can handle those rules." Hao said. "But, I have a few rules of my own." Lupe and the Doctor cocked their heads at him. "Rule one – Lupe is allowed to pounce on me, no explanation needed, and attempt to tickle me to death." Lupe had discovered that Hao had an extremely ticklish tummy. "The other rule is once I feel I can be out in public again you two have to drag me wherever, whenever without any regard to safety or risks." The Doctor and Lupe grinned at him.

"I think we can live with those rules." Lupe said, laughing. She then tackled him to the ground and proceeded to tickle him into submission.

~~~~~***~~~~~

"Are you going to tell Deanna about... you know?" Lupe asked as they prepared to get underway. In answer Hao rolled up the sleeves of his white button-up shirt, revealing the silvery scars. The Doctor nodded his approval, and then flipped a switch, sending the TARDIS spinning away.

Hao sat with Deanna at the kitchen table, a mug of hot apple cider in his hands. He told her everything; the nightmares, the cutting, everything. The Doctor and Lupe stood in the background, not saying anything. Deanna watched him with soft dark eyes.

"Did it make you feel better?" She asked after he was done talking. Hao shook his head.

"It made the voices stop, for awhile anyways, but it made me feel worse about myself. Ashamed, worthless." Deanna put her hand over his.

"Was there anything that did make you feel better?" Hao thought for a moment.

"Just...being with the Doctor and Lupe and you. You all make me feel wanted and cared about... that's all I really want, I think." The Doctor and Lupe smiled softly and happily at him. Deanna looked at them and nodded.

"Well, I think that's all for today." She said, getting up. Hao stared at her in confusion.

"B-but we haven't done anything yet." Deanna smiled.

"Hao, for the last five minutes the Doctor and Lupe have been bombarding your mind with thoughts." Hao stared, comprehension dawning.

"I didn't even know." He said softly. "I wasn't even thinking about keeping the barrier up, but it was there anyways." A broad grin crossed his face. "I did it!" He crowed, punching the air with his fists. Lupe couldn't contain her excitement and barrelled into him, knocking them both to the floor. Hao giggled as Lupe enthusiastically hugged him and licked his nose in her excitement, tail wagging like crazy. Hao hugged her back and helped her to her feet.

"So what do we do now?" Hao asked, eyes dancing with excitement.

"Well, seeing as we're already here, let's go meet the rest of the Enterprise crew, shall we?" The Doctor grinned and led the way to the door. Hao held his breath as he stepped through. A bunch of men and women in red and yellow uniforms were working outside. Hao breathed out; he couldn't hear any of them. Then he turned his attention to the window and gasped.

An enormous gas planet, silver-grey banded in colour, with massive double rings slowly turned above him. Stars, more numerous and larger than any he had ever seen on Earth, studded the inky black of space. Hao stared in wonder; any lingering doubts about the Doctor and Lupe vanished as he took in the immensely beautiful and alien sight.

"Incredible, isn't it?" A deep, calm voice said behind Hao. Hao turned to stare up at the commanding bald man with expressive, intelligent brown eyes. "You must be Hao."

"You must be Captain Picard." Hao replied, taking the Captain's outstretched hand. Picard turned his arm over to inspect the scars on the skin.

"Hurting yourself not only causes pain for yourself, but also for those that care about you, remember that." Picard said softly, gently.

"I will, sir." Picard smiled at him and chuckled.

"Good man, now if you'll excuse me, I need to discuss Barsulian battle tactics." Hao nodded, and Picard strode off in the direction of the Doctor. Hao turned and saw Lupe chatting happily with a pair of people sitting at computers with Tweak perched on her shoulder. Smiling, he made his way over to her. She brightened when she saw him.

"Oh, there you are!" She exclaimed. "Hao, I'd like you to meet Geordi and Data." Geordi was a black man with short black hair and a beard, and a strange visor-like apparatus over his eyes. Data was an extremely pale-skinned man with dark hair and pale yellow eyes.

"What is that?" Hao asked, curious, stretching his hand towards the thing over Geordi's eyes.

"It's called a VISOR. It allows me to see." Geordi explained. "In regular vision, and also on other wavelengths as well, like infrared." Hao stared at the device with fascination. Lupe giggled.

"If you think that's cool, guess what? Data here is an android." Lupe smiled hugely at the stunned look on Hao's face.

"You'd think I'd be used to this sort of thing by now." He finally muttered.

"Lupe has mentioned that you are a shaman, is that correct?" Data asked. Hao nodded. "I have done some research on shamans and the definitions vary throughout history and culture."

"Well, most cultures have different ideas of what a shaman does, but a shaman is basically someone who can communicate with spirits." Geordi raised an eyebrow at that.

"Ah, so a shaman is a theological figure in society." Data concluded. Hao nodded. "I would very much like to learn more about shamans, if you feel so inclined."

Hao actually wound up explaining about shamans and the Shaman King tournament to an audience that included Data, Geordi, Captain Picard, the Doctor and Lupe in the Enterprise's lunch room.

"I wonder how shamans managed after humans scattered through the universe." The Doctor mused softly. Hao shrugged.

"We'd find some way." He said. Not long after the three companions decided it was time to take their leave of the Enterprise.

Lupe set co-ordinates for the Domino city Hub.

"Where are we going now?" Hao asked, looking over her shoulder.

"We are going to take you to meet the lovely folks of Torchwood."

"All three Torchwoods; Cardiff, Domino City and Alternate Cardiff." The Doctor added. Hao smiled, he was looking forward to meeting all those people; he had heard so many stories about Torchwood. The TARDIS set off and after a moment landed with a thump. Hao walked out the door in the wake of Lupe and the Doctor and stopped dead, trying to make sense of the insanity he had just walked into.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Wolf: I own nothing!

Torchwood

Hao had come out in a room with a confusing array of computers and other assorted technology that had a futuristic pole-like thing coming out of the center. Hao thought it looked sort of like the console in the TARDIS, except less... organic. In front of him a spiky-haired man, Atem, he guessed, had a taller, rugged, brown-haired, blue-eyed man in a headlock. A dark-haired, green-eyed woman and another handsome man with short brown hair and blue eyes were arguing behind them. Hao saw the Doctor running like mad to get away from a shorter, older woman with blond hair.

But wait, the Doctor was standing beside him, wasn't he? Another, younger blond woman was yelling at the two running around. A blond and a brunette were making out in the corner. And through all the chaos Hao saw the other spiky-haired man, Yugi, sitting quietly under one of the computer desks, playing with his two children. Suddenly the little girl, Aiko, looked up and saw them.

"WUPE! DOCTAH!" She cried, and she and her brother scrambled towards them. The little boy, Adjo, was picked up and swung around by Lupe, while Aiko latched herself onto the Doctor's legs.

"Addy!" Lupe laughed delightedly, nuzzling him. "Staying out of trouble?"

"I not trouble, Jack trouble." The 3-year old said defensively. Lupe laughed.

"Yes, Jack is most definitely trouble." Adjo chortled and then spotted Hao standing beside Lupe.

"Who a' you?" He asked. Hao stared into big violet eyes and smiled.

"I'm Hao, I'm Lupe and the Doctor's friend." He answered.

"Hao." Adjo appeared to think for a moment. "Hug?" He asked, stretching his arms towards Hao. Hao carefully took the little boy in his arms. Adjo wrapped his arms around Hao as far they would go. Hao felt tears prick his eyes; if things had gone differently; this sweet child would have been killed by him. Adjo looked up at him in concern.

"Why cry? No cry." He said softly, reaching up to brush the tears off his face. "Why sad?"

"My past makes me sad, but it's ok." Hao replied.

"Put your past behind." Aiko watched him with serious crimson eyes. "Hakuna matata." Hao smiled at her.

"The wisdom of children." A gentle voice said. Hao looked into violet eyes that matched Adjo's. "Hello, do you remember me?" Hao shook his head with an apologetic smile. "That's ok, you were pretty sick at the time. I'm Yugi; I was the one who looked after your wounds when the Doctor and Lupe brought you in."

"Then thank you, Yugi. I've heard a lot about you and your husband." A deep, rich laugh reached his ears.

"I'm sure not all of it flattering." Atem came towards him, authoritative crimson eyes dancing with amusement. By now everyone in the room had turned to stare at the young shaman, making Hao feel shy, and he backed up a little.

"Oi, give the boy some space." The older blond woman pushed through and glared at the assembled people. "What's the matter with you all? You act like you never seen a boy before." She turned to Hao with a smile. "Hello, plum. I'm Jackie Tyler." Hao smiled; so this was the woman that Lupe affectionately referred to as 'mum'.

"I'm Hao, Hao Asakura." He said to her. The rugged, brown-haired man forced his way forward to shake his hand.

"Captain Jack Harkness." He said, running his eyes up and down Hao's body (lol Jack). "It's nice to meet you." He smiled.

"I saw that look Jack. You're lucky I'm in a good mood." The man with the short brown hair and good fashion taste came up and kissed Jack on the cheek. "Ianto Jones. You'll have to forgive Jack, he feels the need to flirt with everything that moves." Hao chuckled. The younger blond woman and the Doctor look-alike came forward next.

"It's great to finally meet you." The doppelganger said with great enthusiasm. "I'm Don Lord and this is my wife Rose." Hao looked at them with interest, remembering the Doctor's stories.

The blond man and the brunette came to Hao. The blond had warm honey eyes and the brunette had icy sapphire eyes.

"Yeah, there! I'm Joey and this is Seto, it's nice to meet you." The dark-haired woman came forward next.

"Hello, I'm Gwen. I work with those two sods." She pointed at Jack and Ianto and grinned. Hao grinned back. "I just want you to know that we're not here to judge you. Whatever happened, whatever you did means nothing. This is a new start for you and we'll be behind you every step of the way." Hao's face grew sober.

"How much were you told?" He sighed.

"Not much, truthfully." Jack shrugged. "We were told that you had done some bad things in the past, but that you regretted them and wanted to make a change. Judging by those scars, I'd say that whatever happened weighs heavily on you." Jack said. Hao self-consciously pulled his sleeves down.

"Like Gwen said, we're not here to judge." Atem said. "There are those of us in this room, and on our teams that have things in their past that they deeply regret. We understand the need for a second chance." Hao didn't know what to say. To be accepted by all these people was overwhelming. A gentle hand on his arm drew his attention. Yugi smiled at him softly.

"Come sit." He said, leading Hao down into the center of the Hub where there was a bowl-shaped depression filled with couches and pillows. Hao sat down and the Doctor and Lupe sat on either side of him. The rest of the people came to sit around him.

"Do you feel up to us bringing the rest of our teams here to meet you?" Jack asked. "If not it's ok."

"I think I'd like to get all the introductions done now, so there's less confusion." Hao tipped the corner of his lip up in a smile.

"Excellent!" Don said cheerily and took out his cell phone. Jack did the same.

"How do Don and the others get from the other world to here? You told me about the Cybermen and the giant rift gate but surely you wouldn't use that all the time." Hao asked, curious.

"Ooh, sorry, we never told you that little detail did we?" The Doctor smiled. "Well, when we left the parallel world with Don and Rose (see the other stories in the series) Suki was working on a portable device that would allow individuals to cross the dimensions. When Don and Rose's two months of travelling were up, we called to say we were coming but Suki told us instead to meet them at Jack's Hub. She had finished the devices see, and wanted to test them. So, of course everyone from all the Torchwoods had to get involved and there was a huge celebration when the Inter-Dimensional Teleporters, or IDTs, worked. Since then, our friends from the other world visit whenever they like." Lupe laughed.

"I still remember when Jamal showed up. He grabbed me and, pointing at Raphael, whispered 'who is the big blond hunk? And is he single?' When I nodded, he didn't wait for me to say anything else, but went and started flirting." Lupe guffawed. "The two of them are going steady now." Hao looked around the Hub, not seeing Raphael, or Valon, or Alistair, whom he knew were also part of the team. Atem interpreted his look.

"The rest of the team is doing a clean-up operation. An old spaceship turned up recently and we're still searching for any lost parts and making sure anyone who saw something gets Retconned." Atem looked up as the Hub doors opened. He nodded at him team. They put away their equipment and wandered over.

"Hao this is Raphael, Valon and Alistair." Each of the men greeted Hao and shook his hand.

There was a bang of displaced air and three more people made their way to the center of the Hub. One was a small black woman with dark, laughing eyes. There was also a tall, black man and an older brown-haired woman.

"Mickey! Martha! Sarah-Jane!" The Doctor said with affection.

"Hello Doctor, hello Lupe." Sarah-Jane said with a smile. The Doctor and Lupe grinned and bounced over to hug their friends. Sarah-Jane was the first to address Hao.

"So, Hao is it?" Hao nodded politely at her. "How are you enjoying travelling with the Doctor and Lupe?"

"I haven't done much travel yet." Hao confessed. "But, what little I have done has been incredible."

"It always was." Sarah-Jane said, smiling.

"You never forget travelling with the Doctor." Martha added, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"And you never regret it." Mickey added. "It's life-changing." Hao nodded; in the short time he had been with them he felt his entire world being turned upside down, and he was loving it.

Another bang announced the arrival of the rest of Don's team. A tall, black man with hazel eyes and a Mohawk bounced up to Raphael and kissed him happily. He then turned to Hao and grinned.

"Hello! You must be Hao! I'm Jamal." Jamal pumped his hand enthusiastically and then gasped. "I loovvveee your hair." He played with a few strands of it. "It's so silky and beautiful."

"Jamal, quit feeling up the boy's hair." A tall woman with purple streaked, curly black hair and navy blue eyes shoved Jamal away.

"Don't mind him, he's too gay for his own good. I'm Meagan." Hao shook her hand. The petite Asian woman with spiked, black hair with an electric blue streak running through it and glasses magnifying her black eyes introduced herself as Suki. Finally a gangly, red-haired man with green eyes introduced himself as Colin.

They didn't stay long after that. Hao was tired out from all the excitement of the day and everyone there would just wear him out from all the questions they would ask. Hao was impressed by the amount of people that cared about the Doctor and Lupe. _'Will I ever have something like that?'_

"Of course you will." Lupe said, slinging an arm around his shoulder as they walked through the TARDIS. He looked at her with a crooked half-smile.

"You've been listening to my thoughts again." He said with amusement. She sniffed.

"It's hard not to hear them when you broadcast so loud. We keep our minds open in here to hear the TARDIS speak to us, it's not our fault this means we can hear you too." She explained, before realizing that he had been teasing her. She shoved him gently and he shoved her back. This contest quickly turned into a wrestling match with the Doctor and Tweak watching in amusement.

Just another day in the TARDIS.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	9. Chapter 9

Wolf: I own nothing! Let the craziness begin.

Close Calls

Another month passed in the TARDIS. Life had certainly gotten more interesting for Hao. He had been so many places and seen so many things, it was wonderful. Hao's hair had begun to grow out again. It was now down to between his shoulder blades and he wore it in a shaggy, low ponytail. The bangs he kept short, framing his face. Yugi had commented recently that his eyes no longer looked haunted all the time. He had filled out again, his form going from gaunt to lean and muscular once more.

Hao couldn't say he was back to his old self. The old Hao never laughed for pure and simple joy. The old Hao didn't allow a hyper wolf-girl to tease, tickle, wrestle and pounce on him. The old Hao wouldn't have allowed Aiko and Adjo to play horsey or cuddle with him to watch a Disney movie. No, he definitely was not back to his old self, and that made him happy.

The nightmares were lessening. They still came but not as frequently. Hao had discovered that Lupe and the Doctor also had frequent nightmares, mostly about Cybermen, Daleks, or their time trapped in the lab. Now when one of them woke up from a nightmare they would go to the kitchen and have hot chocolate to calm the nerves. It seemed to work.

Hao's wardrobe had gone through a drastic change as well. He now mainly wore jeans and t-shirts, with a sweater over top to hide the scars. Oh, and of course, a pair of black converse. When you were with the Doctor, you tended to do a lot of running. Like right now, for example.

Hao bolted inside the TARDIS, hearing a massive roar and thundering footsteps behind him. The Doctor and Lupe barrelled inside and slammed the door shut. There was a thud as something big threw itself against the TARDIS. Hao looked at the Doctor round-eyed as he fiddled at the console.

"What was that thing?" He asked finally, after catching his breath.

"Albertasaur, female."

"No kidding." Hao said. "Why was it chasing us?"

"I kind of fell into its nest." The Doctor shrugged. "They can be very territorial creatures, especially when it comes to their young." Hao shook his head.

"Remind me not to get in between mom and baby then." Lupe and the Doctor laughed and sent them off into the vortex, leaving behind a very confused dinosaur.

~~~~***~~~~

The TARDIS emerged in Torchwood: Domino City. Lupe flew out the door and immediately started a game of chase-me with the twins. The Doctor grabbed Yugi in a hug and Hao loped over to Atem to check out the latest bit of alien tech they had recovered.

"Hey guys!" Joey called as he walked into the Hub. "Where you been?"

"You'll have to wait for everyone to get here to find out." Hao called back with a grin. Joey grinned back and began calling up all their friends, and ordering pizza.

Hao moved over to the computer that Valon was looking at, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"What's up, mate?" Valon asked.

"You guys have access to government files right?" Hao asked.

"Yea, why?"

"I was wondering if you could find out where my family went." Valon looked at him quizzically. "I just want to be able to check up on my brother, make sure he's all right." Valon nodded.

"I think I can do that, what's the last name again?"

"Asakura." Valon typed quickly into the computer. The information quickly came up. Valon frowned at the screen, reading the address.

"Hey, that's in Domino city. Hang on a tick." Valon typed into the computer and brought up CCTV. He zoomed in on what looked like an old-fashioned hotel, much like the place Yoh stayed at in Tokyo.

"Figures. Anna probably wanted a place like this." Hao shook his head then stared at the screen as he saw his brother and his brother's friends in the backyard garden.

"What are they doing?" Valon asked, confused.

"Training." Hao answered with amusement. Valon watched the little blond girl ordering around the exhausted boys.

"Looks more like torture." Hao chuckled in agreement. Lupe bounced over to have a look at what they were doing.

"Ooh, I remember them. That guy with the funny spike has a Kwan Dao, very lovely weapon. Sliced open my hand though, wasn't very nice." She winced along with the others as Anna smacked Yoh across the face.

"Ooh, that looked painful." The Doctor had wandered over. "She could be an honorary Tyler." Lupe laughed at this. Hao stared at his brother's face as he turned to the camera. The Doctor and Lupe watched a soft smile cross his face.

"He seems like a kind person." Lupe said, looking at the screen.

"He is. I've done so much to hurt him and yet when I needed help, he never hesitated." Hao shook his head. "What I ever did to deserve a brother like him is beyond me." He whispered. "Uh, where is this address?" Valon printed a copy out along with a map. Hao folded them and put them in his pocket.

"What are you going to do?" The Doctor asked curiously. Hao took a breath.

"I just want to see him. I won't let him see me, his friends and family would attack me on sight. I just...want to see him." Hao gave them a sheepish look. The Doctor and Lupe looked around as their friends started teleporting in.

"Can it wait until a little later? Our friends are arriving." Hao nodded; relieved that they weren't going to try to stop him.

~~~~***~~~~

Hao stood outside the old inn, hands in his pockets, feeling uncertain.

"You're not getting anything done by standing here." Lupe's voice murmured in his ear. He yelped and spun around.

"Lupe! I didn't even realize you had followed me." Hao cried. Lupe placed a finger against her lips. Hao noticed that she had put her wolf ears and tail away. It was strange to see her without them.

"Hush, this is a covert mission remem- hang on a second, are you taller?" Hao frowned. Lupe moved closer, placing a hand on her head and using it to measure her height against Hao.

"You are taller." She complained when her hand bumped Hao's forehead. It appeared that Hao was now two inches taller than Lupe, where previously he had been the same size. "That is so not cool." Lupe continued. "Hey, over there." Lupe nudged Hao, height forgotten, and pointed to a large tree overhanging the backyard of the inn.

Lupe and Hao moved quickly and silently to the tree. They scrambled up to a branch that let them overlook the backyard and would hold both their weights. Hao looked into the backyard and spotted Yoh. He was sitting on the low porch, meditating. Hao looked at his brother's peaceful face, heart squeezing in his chest.

Suddenly, as though he could feel his presence, Yoh opened his eyes and gazed at the tree where they were hiding. Hao nearly fell out of the tree in surprise.

"Shit!" he whispered. "I think he can sense my furyiochu." He cursed again as Yoh began walking towards the tree, a gentle frown of puzzlement on his face.

"Hao? Is that you?" he asked when he was close to the tree. Hao cursed again, this time in Venusian.

"Not a word, maybe he'll go away."Lupe whispered. No such luck.

"Come on, I can sense your furyiochu."

"Told you." Hao whispered. Lupe stuck her tongue out at him. Yoh was frowning slightly again.

"I think... I think there's something wrong with your furyiochu though."

"What!" Yoh's head jerked up at the soft exclamation. Hao grabbed the branch in front of him to keep from falling. "Shit. He heard me." Lupe sighed and took out the teleporter she had brought.

"Hao?" Yoh pushed aside the branches of the tree, but there was no one there. He sighed sadly. "I could have sworn.."

~~~~***~~~~

Lupe and Hao teleported into Torchwood and immediately headed into the TARDIS.

"So, how'd it go?" The Doctor asked.

"We almost got caught." Lupe replied cheerily. Hao frowned slightly, puzzling over Yoh's words.

"What did he mean by there's something wrong with my furyiochu?" Lupe and the Doctor frowned at him.

"I don't know. Maybe we should do a scan." The Doctor led Hao into a room he had never been in. It looked like a science lab from another world; which, it was essentially. The Doctor got Hao to lie down on the table in the middle of the room. He then tapped into a computer and a device attached to the ceiling scanned Hao's body.

"The trick is to get the right frequency." The Doctor said, as he fiddled with the machine. "Aha!" Hao sat up and stared. He could make neither head nor tail of the information on the screen.

"Let's see, alright. Oh! Oh, oh." The Doctor's voice turned grave. "That's not good."

"What? What is it?" The Doctor sighed.

"Your brother is right, there is something wrong with your furyiochu." He sat down beside Hao. "You see your furyiochu seems to have gotten tangled up with your life energy, the energy that keeps you alive."

"So, what does that mean for me?" Hao asked, frowning in confusion.

"It means that if you use past a certain amount of your furyiochu, ohh about 10,000 units, you'll start tapping into your life energy instead." Hao inhaled sharply. "If you use too much of your life energy, you'll die." The Doctor finished, grave chocolate eyes on Hao.

"I guess it happened in my battle with Yoh." The Doctor continued to stare at him gravely.

"Are you going to be ok with this?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Hao rubbed his head. "Truth is I had kind of forgotten about my abilities until Yoh mentioned it." He laughed. "Don't worry, it's not really a part of my life anymore." The Doctor smiled.

"All right then, now that that's settled, tell me about this near miss of yours."

Just another day in the TARDIS.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	10. Chapter 10

Wolf: Ha ha! I am free of assignments for the next week or so! Updates will occur, so long as I keep up with my notes. I own nothing but the plot and my strange little ocs.

Christmas Presents

It was Christmastime, which meant that Hao had been with the Doctor and Lupe for six months now. He had decided to keep his hair shorter than it was. It was still long; down to between his shoulder blades, but his bangs he had kept the same length as his brother's.

Hao had kept an eye on Yoh this whole time. Yoh had almost caught him once or twice before Hao remembered to conceal his furyiochu. Lupe had told him just to talk to his brother, what was the worst that could happen? Hao wanted desperately to talk to his brother, but he felt that Yoh having contact with him would put him in danger. Besides, Hao wasn't certain Yoh even wanted him as a brother, not after the things he had done. One day, just before Christmas, Lupe asked him a question.

"Why don't you get him a present?" Hao looked up from the book that he was reading.

"Huh?"

"It's almost Christmas, why don't you get your brother a present?" Lupe cocked her head quizzically at him, large ears pricked forward.

"What would I get him?"

"Something special. Something that would mean something to him." Tweak whistled his agreement from Hao's lap. Hao chuckled and fed the little dragon a grape, thinking about what Lupe had said.

~~~~***~~~~

A couple days later he was ready. A silver leaf pendant sat on the floor in front of him in his bedroom. Hao prepared to finish his present. He had done the calculations, this process shouldn't kill him. To be safe, he had waited until both the Doctor and Lupe were out to do this; they would have stopped him if they knew.

Hao closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt the power build inside him and spill out, coiling around the necklace and seeping into it. Little by little a shape made itself evident as the necklace lifted up and appeared to hang around a neck. The form was small and not human. Hao gasped as he felt his life energy leaving him but he held on.

"Hao? What are you doing?" Hao didn't look up, but could imagine the look of worry on Lupe's face.

"Just a little more..." He gasped out, and then released the spell. He caught himself on his hands as a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He opened his eyes to stare at the orange tabby cat standing in front of him with a confused expression on its face.

"Hao-sama!" It cried. Hao grinned.

"Hey Matamune." He managed to say before passing out. Lupe rushed to his side, as did Matamune.

"Stupid stupid git." She growled as she turned him over onto his back.

"Forgive me, but may I ask who you are? And perhaps, what you are?" Matamune looked at the slim wolf-girl in confusion. Lupe grinned and got down on all fours to look him in the face.

"I'm Lupe, I'm a alien-wolf-human hybrid. You must be Matamune." She held out a hand for him to shake. He took it, surprised that she could actually touch when he could sense no shamanic ability in her.

"Alien, you said?" Lupe nodded, moving forwards to sniff his face in a friendly way. Matamune sighed. "I think you'd better start at the beginning."

~~~~***~~~~

Hao stirred and opened his eyes, noticing that he was in his bed. He groaned softly, he was definitely going to get it from Lupe.

"Ahh, so you're awake, Hao-sama." Hao smiled at the small cat spirit.

"Don't call me that, Matamune, it's not necessary."

"Of course, Hao-sama." Matamune's mouth tipped up in a small smile at the face Hao made at him.

"Your friend, Miss Lupe, was most worried about you. She mentioned finding the nearest black hole and chucking you into, I believe." Hao smiled.

"I can imagine." Just then, said wolf-girl hurtled into the room and pounced on him.

"You git! You had me and the Doctor worried sick. Why would you do something so stupid?!" Lupe shook him by the shoulders.

"I knew what I was doing Lupe, I figured it all out. You two would have just tried to stop me."

"And what if your figures were wrong, hm? You would have been drained. Did you ever think that maybe we would help you so that you wouldn't use all this energy, that maybe we could help provide the energy too?" Hao stared at her, open-mouthed.

"I didn't think of that." He admitted sheepishly. Lupe smacked him over the head and then hugged him again.

"We filled Matamune in on what has happened since the Shaman King tournament." Hao nodded.

"I am glad that you are no longer plagued by madness, Hao-sama." Hao smiled.

"I'm glad that it's gone. Now, there is something we must discuss...."

~~~~***~~~~

Yoh smiled at his friends. It was Christmas day and they had just opened presents. His friends were chatting and arguing in the case of Ren and Horohoro. Yoh felt a little sad though, he had hoped that his brother would make an appearance. Yoh had even gotten him a small cat figurine that looked like Matamune, he knew that Hao had cared very much about the cat spirit. Yoh had been sure that he had felt Hao's presence nearby several times in the last few months, but Hao had never shown himself. Yoh wanted desperately to see his brother, to know that he was alright, and maybe start over, this time as brothers, not enemies.

The sound of the doorbell interrupted his thoughts, and his heartbeat quickened. '_Could it be?'_

"I'll get it." He said, getting up and walking to the door. He opened it and stared in confusion, there was no one there.

"Down here, Yoh-sama." Yoh looked down and his eyes widened in surprise.

"M-Matamune?" He squeaked. The cat spirit smiled at him.

"Yes, it is good to see you." Yoh finally snapped out of his daze then and picked up the cat spirit, hugging him.

"I really missed you." He said softly.

"And I missed you." Matumune replied. He hopped out of Yoh's arms and walked inside. "Coming?" Yoh nodded and closed the door. Yoh followed Matamune back into the living room, where his friends are.

"Hey, Yoh. Who's the cat?" Lyserg asked.

"This is Matamune, he's an old friend." Anna frowned.

"I thought that you passed on?" Matamune nodded. "Then how did you get here?" Anna's eyes narrowed.

"I cannot say." Matamune replied. "But, I will say that this time I am here to stay." Yoh smiled happily while Anna glared suspiciously. She decided to say nothing though, the knowledge that Matamune could have only be brought back by Hao would only make the others suspicious of him and Anna knew that Matamune would never do a thing to hurt Yoh.

Yoh smiled and happened to look out the window. A face framed by chestnut locks watched his house from down the street by the corner. Yoh stared, not sure if the figure was real or not. Suddenly the figure met his eyes, and Yoh knew. He watched Hao's eyes widen and the older twin turned and ran around the corner.

"Not this time." Yoh muttered, rushing to the door, ignoring his friends' cries.

~~~~***~~~~

Hao ran, cursing himself. He shouldn't have stayed, but he had stood there frozen until his brother staring at him. He ran, not daring to look back. Suddenly someone was running alongside him.

"So, where's the fire?" Lupe asked, grinning.

"Yoh...saw...me" Hao puffed, the cold air slicing into his lungs. Lupe glanced behind them.

"He's chasing us."

"Wonderful."

"I think he's gaining." Hao cursed in Martian. He quickly turned a corner and headed to the park. He spotted a footbridge over a more narrow part of the river, thin meaning about 15m across, and pulled Lupe over to it. They hid under the bridge, panting. Presently they heard the sound of footsteps running onto the bridge.

Yoh stared around in confusion, gasping for breath. He was sure Hao had run this way. Hao's present brushed against his stomach as he turned this way and that, trying to see where his brother had gone.

"Yoh!" Yoh looked around to see Anna and his friend jog up. "What was that all about?" She demanded.

"I thought I saw something, but it was nothing." Yoh gave them his customary easy-going grin. His friends relaxed. Matamune appeared and Yoh saw him discreetly flick his ears downwards. Yoh understood.

"I think I'll take a jog, clear my head." He smiled. Anna stared hard at him for a moment before nodding. His friends waved goodbye as Yoh jogged off the bridge in the other direction.

Hao and Lupe listened as the footsteps moved off the bridge and the voices moved away. They quietly moved out from under the bridge, Lupe grinning like mad. Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly something crashed into him from behind and a pair of arms locked around his middle. Hao gasped and began to struggle, only to have the arms tighten.

"Please, please don't run." Hao stopped struggling and turned to look at his brother. Yoh looked back at him with pleading, desperate eyes. "Please, don't go, I-I just want to talk, please." Hao gulped and relaxed in his brother's hold. Yoh let him go and Hao turned to face him. Yoh smiled shyly at him and held out a small package.

"Merry Christmas." He said. Eyes wide, Hao took the package and opened it. He smiled at the tiny cat figurine.

"Hey, it's Matamune." Lupe said, looking over his shoulder. Startled, Yoh jumped back, slipping on a patch of ice, and fell into the snow. Hao yelped and, handing the figurine to Lupe, helped his brother up.

"You ok?" he asked. Yoh nodded.

"You've been watching me, haven't you?" He asked. Hao gulped and, looking away, nodded. "Why didn't you ever let me see you, or talk to you?" Yoh's voice was upset and confused. Hao's head shot up, looking at him in bewilderment.

"I-I thought...i-it was better...I didn't think you wanted..." Hao couldn't go on and hung his head in shame. He felt gentle, calloused hands touch his cheeks and lift his head so that he was staring into his brother's soft, gentle eyes.

"Why would I have brought you back if I didn't want you there?"

"I've done so much to hurt you, how can you...?" Hao's voice was barely above a whisper. Yoh's arms wrapped around him, enfolding him in a gentle embrace. Hao leaned into the touch.

"I know you, I know what you went through, the pain you suffered, that's how. You're my brother and I care about you." Hao bit back a sob.

"I want...I want to be there for you, to be your brother, if you'll let me." Hao said softly. Yoh pulled back and smiled at him.

"I'd like that a lot." Just then, Yoh's cell phone rang. He opened it and read the text that was there. "Sorry, Anna wants me to pick up a few things." Hao's smile faded.

"How are you going to explain this to your friends and family? Will they even accept me?" Yoh frowed slightly.

"I don't know. We should take it slow, though. Is there somewhere we can meet, later on maybe?"

"I know a good place." Lupe piped up. "Hello there, remember me?" Yoh smiled at her.

"Of course I do, you're Lupe." Lupe bobbed her head, grinning delightedly.

"Brilliant, as I was saying, I know a little cafe nearby that has excellent cocoa. We can meet there, the Doctor too, I'm sure he'd like to meet you properly, and we can have a chat. How does that sound?"

"Great!" They figured out the details and each went on their way. Lupe waved goodbye to Yoh and turned to Hao with a smug grin.

"Told you."

* * *

Wolf: review!


	11. Chapter 11

Wolf: I own nothing, nothing I say!

The Rescue

Yoh waited nervously at the cafe for his brother and his companions. Checking the clock for the tenth time in five minutes he drummed his fingers on the table.

"Patience Yoh-sama. Hao-sama will be here." Yoh sighed and smiled at Matamune. He heard the bell over the cafe door ring and he looked up hopefully. Sure enough there was Hao walking with both the Doctor and Lupe. The Doctor was the one who spotted him and he cheerfully made his way over to Yoh.

"Hello again, haven't seen you in awhile." The Doctor said cheerfully. Yoh smiled at him.

"The Doctor, right?" The Doctor bobbed his head with a grin. Lupe and Hao sat down with hot drinks for all of them.

"What did you get us?" The Doctor asked, peeling back the lid of the cup.

"Just hot chocolate, I can't help but remember the last time Lupe got a hold of something caffeinated." Hao said, shaking his head with a smile.

"What happened?" Yoh asked, curious.

"She was, literally, bouncing off the walls, and the ceilings. It was scary." Hao proclaimed, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. Yoh looked over his brother, taking in the shorter hair and the healthy pinkish tint to his skin. Hao caught his gaze and smiled tenderly at him.

"Thank you, for the present, I really liked it." Hao said.

"You're welcome. And thank you, for bringing Matamune back." Yoh smiled back at him.

"It was no problem." Lupe snorted.

"No problem except it almost killed you." She grumbled.

"I knew what I was doing." Hao protested. Lupe just sniffed at him.

"Almost...killed him?" Yoh asked, looking confused. Hao sighed.

"Remember when you said that my furyiochu felt wrong?" Yoh nodded. "You were right. My furyiochu is now tangled with my life energy, so if I use above a certain amount of furyiovhu I actually start using life energy. I use too much and I could die." Yoh stared at him, open-mouthed.

"That's because of me isn't it?" He whispered. "I'm so sorry." Hao placed a hand on his.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Yoh. If it wasn't for you..." Hao's throat closed up and he gulped back tears. "I have never blamed you." He said quietly. Yoh looked at him and reached out to brush the bangs off Hao's face.

"You really have changed."

~~~~~***~~~~~

"So it was how big?"

"Oh, at least as big as a house, but I didn't stick around long enough to really judge." Yoh laughed. He, Hao and Lupe were walking through the park, exchanging stories. It had been three weeks since the meeting in the cafe, and Hao and he were trying to see each other as much as possible. Hao's adventures in the

TARDIS were a constant source of wonder for Yoh.

"You have to bring me to Torchwood sometime onii-chan." Yoh laughed, leaning against the railing of the bridge where he had first caught Hao.

"I will, I promise otouto." Lupe suddenly poked him and pointed to the far end of the bridge.

"Isn't that Anna?" She asked. Yoh looked where she was pointing and hissed.

"Yeah, I think you better go then, looks like their headed this way." Lupe and Hao nodded and, after Hao ruffled Yoh's hair one last time fondly, wandered off towards the forest path.

"Yoh!" Yoh turned and smiled at Anna, Manta, Ren, Horohoro and Silva.

"Hey Silva, what are you doing here?" Silva smiled.

"I just came to check up on you, I'm still your official after all." Yoh nodded.

"It's almost dinner, Yoh, let's go home." Anna ordered. Yoh nodded and ambled off with his friends. Anna went to go too, but she sensed something familiar and paused, leaning against the wooden railing of the bridge.

Suddenly there was a loud crack as the railing gave out. Anna tumbled off the bridge and hit the water with a splash.

"ANNA!" Yoh screamed and he and his friends rushed to where she had fallen. All the sudden a dark-haired blur came running out of the forest and plunged into the water after Anna. The shamans stared as the figure surfaced.

"Is that...?!"

~~~~***~~~~

Hao hit the water and the air was driven from his lungs by the intense cold. Surfacing with a gasp, he swam with the current to where he could see Anna struggling to remain above the water. He saw her go under and dived. Grasping her around the waist he got both of them to the surface. The river was widening at this point and Hao knew it wouldn't be long until they came to the dam. He kicked out, struggling against the current towards shore. Anna clung to him, gasping. After a couple of minutes he felt ground beneath his feet and stood up, draping Anna's arm around his shoulders.

Yoh and his friends ran up as Hao and Anna made it to shore. Anna was grabbed away and Hao collapsed on the rocky shore, shivering violently. He felt arms wrap themselves around his body and leaned into a warm chest, feeling the frantic double heartbeat there.

"Oh gods, are you alright? You nearly scared me to death." Lupe said, hugging him closer.

"It is Hao." Ren cried, staring at them.

"Never mind that Ren, we've got to get Anna to a doctor quick." Yoh cried back.

"I know a doctor, and I can get you to him quicker than any doctor you can get to." Yoh nodded frantically. "Alright, I need you to come grab a hold." She said, taking her teleporter out of her pocket. Yoh came over immediately, helping Anna. The others came reluctantly, casting uneasy glances at Hao.

"Ok, everyone got a hold? Good. Then we're off." There was a bang of displaced air and suddenly they were gone.

~~~~~***~~~~~

The shamans all stumbled as they landed in the Hub.

"Yugi! Yugi!" Lupe called. "I got some patients for you." The shamans looked around in confusion.

"What is this place?" Silva asked.

"Torchwood." Lupe answered distractedly. "Your lips are blue." She informed Hao.

"G-great." He said through chattering teeth. Yugi and Martha appeared then.

"Oh hello Martha, we need some help here. Anna fell in the river and Hao jumped in after her, you see."

"Oh, you poor things." Martha gently grabbed Anna. "Lupe, come help me with her. Yugi can take care of Hao." Lupe nodded and followed after her.

After getting the two teens dry and in clean clothes they were led to the couch filled dip in the center of the Hub.

"I'll go get something warm to drink." Martha said, handing a blanket to Lupe. Yugi nodded in agreement and handed a blanket to Yoh. Lupe went and wrapped the blanket around her and Anna, pulling Anna close to her body. Yoh followed her lead with Hao.

"What are you doing?" Horohoro hissed while all of Yoh's friends stared at him in bewilderment.

"I'm helping him warm up." Yoh said matter-of-factly. Hao just closed his eyes and leaned against his brother, shivering. His head shot up as Lupe cried out.

"IY-YA, your hands are cold!" Lupe's wolf ears popped out and shot straight up as Anna wrapped her arms tighter around her, clearly wanting to be closer to the warmth. She let out a soft yell of surprise when she felt fur grow under her fingers. Lupe looked down apologetically.

"Sorry, you're just very cold." The shamans stared at the soft white fur covering most of Lupe's body now. Hao chuckled softly.

"You look like the Abominable Snowman." He teased.

"Oooh, making jokes are we? Oh, I think you're going to be just fine." Lupe sniffed. "And for your information, I've met the Abominable Snowman and they are nowhere near as pretty as I am." Hao just stuck his tongue out at her and buried himself in the blanket again. The shamans all looked at each other in bewilderment. Hao wasn't really acting like the Hao they all knew and feared.

"Hello, what happened here?" The Doctor slid down onto the couch beside Lupe.

"She fell in the river and Hao jumped in after her." The Doctor whistled, and Tweak, sitting on his shoulder, echoed him. The shamans' jaws dropped at the sight of the tiny silver dragon.

"T-that's a..a.." Manta stuttered as the tiny spread his wings and flapped over to perch on Hao's shoulder.

"This must be Tweak." Yoh laughed and reached up to pet him. Hao smiled softly and nodded. Anna watched the twins thoughtfully, in particular the way Hao seemed to lean into Yoh unconsciously. Martha came back with hot tea for the both of them. After finishing her tea, Anna rose to leave.

"Thank you for rescuing me." Hao nodded and smiled shyly at her. "Tomorrow night you and your companions will join us for dinner." With that she allowed herself to be led out of the room. The Doctor grinned at her retreating back.

"Reminds me a bit of Jackie, she does."

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	12. Chapter 12

Wolf: I have the hiccups as I'm writing this, isn't that fun? Anyways, I own nothing, as we all should be aware of by now, so on with the story!

Dinner

"I still can't believe you invited him to dinner Anna!" Horohoro exclaimed. "I mean inviting the most dangerous shaman on earth, who just happens to have tried to kill us on several occasion, to dinner, I fail to see the logic."

SMACK!

Horohoro held his face as Anna stared impassively at him, hand still upraised.

"Are you questioning my intelligence?" She asked in an icy tone. Horohoro's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly, not wanting another slap.

"Did it seem like he was acting odd to you?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, I mean he was acting strange, but it could have been the cold." Manta said.

"It wasn't the cold, onii-chan has changed." Everyone looked up as Yoh came in with the groceries.

"We'll see." Anna said.

A few moments later the door opened and voices travelled down the hall to the kitchen. Yoh stared in shock at the sight of his parents and grandfather walking into the kitchen.

"Wha..What are you all doing here?" Yoh asked.

"We came to see how you were doing." Keiko replied, kissing her son's forehead.

Yoh chatted with his family for a few minutes before leaving the room and dialling his brother's number.

"**Hello?"**

"Onii-chan, it's me."

"**Otouto? What's up?"**

"Our family showed up unexpectedly here." There was silence on the other end. "I-If you don't want to come, we can make another date." Yoh said hurriedly.

"**Hold on a sec Yoh." **Yoh could hear Hao talking to someone, but he couldn't make out the words.

"**Ok, we're still coming tonight." **

"Are you sure?" There was a deep inhale from the other end.

"**Yeah, if worse comes to worst we'll teleport out, but this may be a good chance to show them that I've changed, right?"**

"I guess so. Just be careful, ok?"

"**Ok, goodbye otouto." **

"See you tonight onii-chan."

~~~~~***~~~~~

"Aren't you cooking a little much?" Mikihisa asked, peering over Yoh's shoulder as he stirred the pot, helping Ryu and Anna prepare dinner. "I know we said that guests were coming but-"

"We also have guests coming, sorry I forgot to mention that tou-san." Yoh said apologetically. He glanced at the clock nervously; Hao, Lupe and the Doctor would be here soon. Suddenly the doorbell rang, making Yoh jump a little.

"Ahh, that must be them now." Yohmei said. Yoh heard the door open and close and footsteps come down the hall. He turned and dropped his stirring spoon in surprise.

There in the doorway was Lady Jeanne, Marco and Lyserg. Yoh stared at Lyserg; he was once again wearing the uniform of the X-Laws. Lyserg looked away self-consciously.

"H-hello, what brings you here?" Yoh asked, mind racing.

"We have heard disturbing rumours that Hao is still out there." Lady Jeanne replied in her usual calm voice. "Since your family is closest to him we felt it wise to discuss this with all of you."

"I see." Yoh shot Anna a worried look. She merely raised an eyebrow at him, but he could tell that she was a little concerned.

"So, who are these other guests Yoh?" Yohmei asked. Yoh was saved from answering by the doorbell ringing again.

"I'll get it." He said. As he walked down the hall he heard his grandfather usher the X-Laws into the dining room.

He opened the door and Hao smiled at him nervously as he, Lupe and the Doctor came inside. Hao was dressed in a white dress-shirt with black dress pants. His hair was tied back with a black ribbon. Lupe wore her purple vest over a white blouse and black slacks, and the Doctor wore a black pin-striped suit. Yoh noticed that Lupe had left her tail and ears out and was carrying her shoulder bag.

"Hey, you guys made it." Yoh said. "There's a bit of a problem though-"

"Yoh, come on! We want dinner." Yoh gave them an apologetic look.

"I guess you'll see what I mean in a minute." He said. Lupe smiled and put her bag down, lifting Tweak out of it.

"I hope you don't mind, he hates being left behind." Yoh shook his head and reached out to pet Tweak, who immediately crawled onto his arm and up onto his shoulder. Lupe chortled.

"I guess he's staying with you tonight." Yoh laughed and led them into the dining room.

Hao stopped dead at the sight of the X-Laws, facing draining of colour.

"You weren't kidding when you said we had a problem." He murmured to Yoh. Just then all the occupants of the room turned to look at them, and all conversation died. Hao felt his heart begin to race under as the look in those eyes turned from shock and confusion to anger and hate. He felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice in his ear.

"Breath, just breath." Lupe murmured, loud enough for only him to hear. Hao relaxed slightly.

"So, the rumours were true..." Lady Jeanne's words trailed off as she registered the girl with white wolf ears and a tail standing beside Hao. Lupe ignored the stares, sensitive nose twitching.

"Mm, smells spicy, I love spicy." Hao snorted.

"You like anything." Lupe gave him a look.

"You're one to talk mister bottomless-pit." She retorted, walking over to sit at the table.

"Bottomless pit?" Hao followed and poked her in the ear as he sat down. "Last time I checked you ate more than I did, which is saying a lot." Lupe crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air.

"I have a much higher metabolism than you humans, so I need to eat more." She replied. Hao felt someone settle down on his other side. He looked and Yoh smiled at him reassuringly.

"I'll bet this is the most interesting thing that's happened to you all day." He teased as the food was laid out to eat.

"Actually no, he was almost eaten today." Lupe's words snapped everyone else out of their shocked silence.

"Eaten?!" Manta explained.

"What was it this time?" Yoh asked curiously.

"Cannibals." Hao replied, taking a bite of food. "You were right Lupe, it is spicy." Lupe grinned at him through a mouthful of food. Tweak had hidden himself on Yoh's back, but now at the smell of food he climbed up and slid into Yoh's lap, giving a soft whistle.

The room now turned to stare at the tiny dragon.

"What does he like to eat?" Yoh asked.

"He'll eat just about anything." Hao replied. Lupe laughed softly as Yoh loaded a napkin with tidbits for Tweak.

"Reminds me of someone I know." She said, giving Hao a cheeky grin and an elbow in the ribs. Marco interrupted them.

"What, pray tell, have you been doing this last little while, Hao? I mean none of our sources tell us you are mobilizing again, so..." Hao blinked.

"A lot, a lot. Travelling, spaceships, telling stories at Torchwood, different planets, meeting aliens, oh, and of course lots and lots of running." He flashed a grin at the Doctor and Lupe who gave him their own wild grins.

"You mock us." Marco said in an annoyed tone. "Insolent little-"

"Oi, no need for name calling. Especially when he happens to be telling the truth." The Doctor gave Marco a slight glare.

"Oh, and I suppose you've seen these aliens too?" Lyserg asked sceptically, avoiding looking at Hao.

"I am an alien." Silence met the Doctor's words. He sighed. "Here, take your hand and place it over my heart." He said to Mikihisa, who was sitting beside him. Mikihisa did as he was bid.

"It is a heartbeat, what of it?" He asked.

"Well, if you'll place your hand on the other side of my chest, you'll see." Mikihisa did as he was told once more and his eyes widened.

"There are two heartbeats." He said softly. There was a collective gasp. The Doctor stared around at them with his intelligent, ancient eyes.

"Believe us now?" There was only shocked silence.

"Tell me then, what business do aliens have with Hao Asakura?" Lady Jeanne's voice was soft and calm.

"The TARDIS led us to him. Sorry, the TARDIS is our ship." He explained. "He was injured at the time and we got him help. Been with us ever since." The Doctor made no mention of the fact that it was in fact Yoh who had saved Hao first. Hao knew this was to protect Yoh from the X-Laws twisted sense of justice. If they knew Yoh had helped him.

"Are you aware that you helped a dangerous murderer?" Marco asked in a growl. Hao flinched at the word 'murderer'. He felt Yoh slip a hand into his and squeeze reassuringly.

"We are aware that we helped a young man that was in intense pain to work through that pain." The Doctor's tone made it clear that the discussion was over. Lupe grinned and began chatting with Ren about his Kwan Dao. Hao smiled softly, knowing that she was taking the attention off him to protect him.

The conversation stayed innocent for the rest of the night. Hao had joined in a couple times, but mostly sat back and listened. Finally, the Doctor took a battered fob watch out of his pocket and looked at it in surprise.

"Oh dear, it's later than I thought. We'd best be off, our lovely friends at Torchwood will be wondering if something happened to us." The Doctor stood up and bowed. "Thank you for a wonderful meal." Lupe and Hao both stood up and bowed too, before following the Doctor to the door. As they were getting their winter clothes on Yoh came up to them and gave Hao a brief hug. Hao sighed happily and returned the hug.

"I'll call you later, okay?" Yoh nodded happily.

"See you later."

"Later, otouto." With that the three of them walked out the front door and into the night, leaving Yoh to go face the music.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	13. Chapter 13

Wolf: I own nothing.

"YOH!" Yoh flinched at the angry sound of his grandfather's voice. Sighing softly, he made his way back into the living room. His angry grandfather glared at him.

"What exactly do you mean by inviting that monster here for dinner?" Yoh opened his mouth to answer but Anna beat him to it.

"I invited him." Her words shocked them all.

"Anna, why would you...?"

"He saved my life yesterday, I was only thanking him for that." Anna said shortly.

"He saved you?" Lady Jeanne asked in disbelief.

"He must be planning something." Marco growled.

"Damn it Yoh, this never would have happened if you had left him out there to die!" Yohmei yelled. The X-Laws gave Yoh a sharp look.

"You went back for him." Lyserg accused quietly. A rare scowl crossed Yoh's features.

"Yeah, I did. And maybe you could have left him there, alone and dying, but I couldn't." He breathed deeply. "I'm going to go do the dishes." He said, and stomped out.

~~~~***~~~~

"That was pretty rough in there, are you ok?" Yoh smiled at his friends as they made their way into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm ok."

"I think they are wrong in this instance though." Ren said to everyone's surprise. He shrugged at them. "I saw the sorrow in his eyes, though he tried to hide it." Horohoro nodded.

"Yeah dude, he's changed."

"I gotta agree, that definitely was not the old Hao in there." Manta added. "What do you think Anna?"

"Of course I believe he's changed, I wouldn't have allowed him in this house otherwise."

"Chief, you know I trust you with all my heart, so..." Yoh smiled at all his friends.

"Thanks guys, I'm really glad."

"Yoh?" Keiko came into the kitchen and hugged her son. "That was an interesting dinner." There was silence at her words. "I wasn't expecting Hao to look so...handsome." They all looked at her in shock. Her smile grew soft. "Or sad." She sighed. "I do not believe he is a monster." Yoh stared at her in disbelief and happiness.

Just then his cell phone rang.

"It's him." Yoh said softly. "Come upstairs and I'll put it on speaker." His friends and mother followed him up to his room where he put the phone on the ground and pressed the talk button.

"Hey onii-chan."

'**Hey otouto, hold on, I have Adjo trying to use me as a jungle gym.' **They heard him talking to someone in the background and a soft child's voice answer him. **'There. How much trouble are you in now?'**

"It didn't go too bad. You've actually got more support now." There was a stunned silence on the other end.

'**Who...?' **Hao finally asked.

"Manta, Anna, Horohoro, Ryu, Ren, and Kaa-san."

'**Kaa..san...? She...believes...?'**

"Yes I do Hao." Keiko's voice was warm and inviting. "You've grown into a fine young man." Hao chuckled nervously.

"Dude! That took serious balls to come here tonight, I gotta say." Horohoro broke in.

'**I couldn't have done it without Lupe and the Doctor standing there with me.' **Hao replied.

"Are they really aliens?" Ryu asked.

'**Yeah, and they've taken me to the most fantastic places. It's been an incredibly humbling experience.' **Hao's voice was quiet and awestruck.

"So, what happens now?" Ren asked after a moment.

'**I-I don't know what you mean.'**

"I mean, what do you want?"

'**A second chance.' **Hao answered automatically. **'A family.'**

"But what about the Doctor and Lupe?" Anna asked.

'**They're my friends, and yes I consider them to be family, but...I'm not sure how to explain, but it's mostly to do with Yoh.' **Hao hesitated. **'I want to be able to be his brother, like I should have been all along.' **

"Uh, Yoh?" They all froze when Lyserg walked into the room. "What are you all doing in here?" Yoh prayed that Hao would be silent.

'**SHIT!' **There was a series of crashing noises from the phone. Lyserg's eyes widened. Ren moved to block his exit.

"You're...you're talking to HIM?!" Lyserg asked.

"Yes, Lyserg calm down." Lyserg opened his mouth to call for the others, but Horohoro grabbed him and clamped a hand over his mouth. He glared.

'**Uh, sorry, but I'm kind of being attacked here.' **They heard another crash.

"By what?" Manta asked in alarm.

'**Give you a hint. It's small, part wolf and is currently hyped up on caffeine.'**

"Lupe."

'**Bingo.' **Hao grunted. **'I think I'd better go.' **

'Ok, can my friends come to see you tomorrow?"

'**Sure, meet you in the usual place.' **

"Yeah, bye onii-chan."

'**Bye ot-' **There was another crash and then just the dial tone. Yoh reached out and shut the phone.

"Is he ok?" Manta asked.

"Yeah, it's just Lupe being hyper, he's dealt with it before." He gestured for Horohoro to release Lyserg.

"You're going to go see him?!" he exploded. "Why on earth would you even want to go anywhere near him Yoh? He tried to kill you, in case you've forgotten."

"Lyserg he's changed." Lyserg let out a derisive snort. "Come with us tomorrow and see, ok?" Lyserg gave him a thoughtful look. "Only, you can't tell any of them about it, ok?" Lyserg nodded reluctantly and got up to leave. "Thanks buddy."

~~~~~***~~~~~

Meanwhile, in the living room, the remaining two Asakuras and the X-Laws were discussing Hao.

"It is obvious that Yoh has become compromised." Marco said.

"Yes, something must be done about them both." Lady Jeanne said. The Asakuras bowed their heads.

"We always knew it might come to this." Yohmei said softly. "So be it."

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	14. Chapter 14

Wolf: I own nothing but the plot and my extremely crazy ocs.

Lupe: Hey!

Wolf: I'm only telling the truth sweetie.

Yoh led his friends and mother to the bridge the next day. They saw Hao waiting, watching the water with a distant expression.

"Hao!" Hao's head snapped up and he grinned at the sight of Yoh.

"Otouto!" He called and grabbed Yoh in a fierce hug.

"Hey, so where are we going?" Yoh asked when Hao let him go.

"We are going to Torchwood. To give you a proper tour and introduce you to some of the crazies that work there." Hao replied happily.

"Yugi and Martha didn't seem all that crazy to me." Anna replied. Hao gave her a grin.

"They're two of the few that are not." He replied. "We just need to go somewhere where we can't be seen."

"And get killed by you, I don't think so." Hao blinked at Lyserg. Lyserg glared and dropped his hand over his gun.

"You got a license to carry that thing in public?" Hao asked. He then shook his head. "Sorry, completely irrelevant. And we need to go where people can't see because it would look really weird if we teleported in the middle of a crowd." Hao explained. "I'm outnumbered, what are you worried about?" He asked Lyserg, who just glared at him. Yoh shook his head and followed Hao under the bridge with his friends.

Hao took the teleporter out of his pocket.

"Ok, you all need to have a hold of me, or someone that has a hold of me." He said quietly. The shamans crowded around him. Hao pushed the teleporter, and with a bang they were gone.

They came out in the middle of the Hub.

"Ahh, good, no glitches-" He was cut off by someone throwing themselves on him and knocking him onto his back. Lupe pressed her nose against his.

"I thought I told you to wait for me!" She demanded.

"You were taking too long." Hao replied. Lupe sat up and raised an eyebrow.

"I think you need to be punished now." She grinned as she stuck her hands under his shirt and began to tickle him. The shamans stared in confusion as Hao laughed uncontrollably, unable to get Lupe off him.

"Wupe a tickle monster." Lupe's head snapped up and she grinned at Adjo and Aiko.

"That's right, and now I'm coming...FOR YOU!" She yelled, jumping off of Hao and chasing after the twins, who ran away, shrieking and giggling. Yoh helped Hao up as he pulled his shirt back down.

"Well, that was...unexpected." Ren commented. Hao shrugged.

"Not really. I'd be shocked if she didn't at least pounce on me every time she sees me." He explained. "That's just Lupe for you." Adjo barrelled at Hao and latched onto his leg.

"Save me fwom da tickle monster!" He cried. Hao laughed and picked the little boy up. Adjo gave Yoh an innocent, wide-eyed stare.

"Who a' you?" He asked.

"That's Yoh, he's my brother." Hao answered gently.

"Oh." Adjo said. "Hug?" Adjo stretched his little arms out to Yoh. Yoh carefully took the three-year-old from Hao and Adjo wrapped his arms around him.

"What a sweet child." Keiko cooed. Adjo looked over Yoh's shoulder at her.

"Who a' you?" He asked. Keiko smiled.

"I'm Yoh and Hao's mother." She answered. Adjo turned to Yoh.

"You has a daddy too?" He asked.

"Yeah, I have a father." Yoh answered.

"Oh, I has two daddies, only I call one daddy and the other papa. Papa say some kids has two daddies, some have two mommies and some have a mommy and a daddy, and dat's all ok." The shamans looked at the little boy in surprise. A soft, gentle laugh sounded behind them.

"Like I always say, children are the wisest of us all." Yugi came around the group and took his son from Yoh.

"May I ask who the children's mother was?" Keiko asked. Yugi smiled.

"I am." The shamans all stared in shock.

"B-but you're a...a-"

"Man? Yes, which is what made this so miraculous." Yugi replied. "None of us knows how it happened, but that doesn't matter to Atem or I." He kissed Adjo on the cheek and set him down on the floor. "Go rescue your sister from the tickle monster." Adjo giggled and ran off. "I must get back to my work." Yugi said, and then turned to go.

"So, what exactly is Torchwood?" Ren asked, looking at the rift manipulator.

"It's an organization that monitors alien activity on earth." Yoh replied. "Right?" Hao nodded at him.

"There are three Torchwoods at the moment, Domino City, Cardiff and Alternate Cardiff." Hao continued.

"What the heck is Alternate Cardiff?" Horohoro asked, tearing his eyes away from the futuristic looking computers.

"It's the Torchwood in the alternate universe." Hao explained. They stared at him.

"You're making fun of us." Lyserg accused angrily.

"Actually he's not." Jack placed a hand on Hao's head and grinned at him. "Hello, my sexy boy-toy." Hao raised an eyebrow at him. Jack then spotted Keiko. "Hello, who's this? Captain Jack Harkness, at your service." He said, extending a hand and turning on the charm.

"For the love of Ra." Hao muttered. "Jack, that's my mother and she's a couple thousand years too young for you."

"Everybody's a couple thousand years too young, except the Doctor and he seems to be immune to my advances."

"Not to mention you have a boyfriend. Should I call him?" Jack backed off with a grin.

"Wait, hold on, what was that thing about a couple thousand years?" Anna asked.

"I can't die." Jack said simply. Their eyes widened.

"You're kidding." Anna said. Jack shook his head and, spotting Atem, yelled to him.

"Hey Atem!" Atem looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Shoot me!" Jack demanded. Atem gave him a look. "I already checked, the twins are watching The Lion King with Lupe, they're in the zone, so shoot me!" Atem sighed and took out his pistol.

BANG!

Jack fell backwards with a bullet in his forehead. The shamans stood in shock until Keiko ran over to his side and felt for a pulse.

"He's dead!" She cried. The shamans began to babble in distress. Hao just sighed.

"Just wait for it." Suddenly Jack's eyes flew open and he gasped in a huge breath. He sat up and smiled.

"I'm back!" He said happily.

"B-But you were dead! I'm sure of it." Keiko cried, confused.

"And I came back. I can't die, not permanently." Jack replied.

"Immortality. What an amazing gift." Lyserg said reverently.

"It's a curse." Jack said darkly. "How would you like to have to continue living while all the people you care about grow old and die?" He shook his head. "At this point, I'm actually trying to find a way around it, so that when I want to pass on, I can."

"And how's that going?" Hao asked.

"I got nothing so far." Jack replied. His pager beeped. "Oh, that's probably Ianto, I should go, nice to meet you all." With that he teleported away. Hao gestured for them to follow him.

"I'll show you the TARDIS." He said, leading them over to the tall, blue box.

"I thought you said you lived in the TARDIS? How on earth can you live in that thing?" Hao just smiled and walked in. The rest of the shamans followed, and gasped.

"I-it's bigger..." Ryu finally managed to squeak out. Hao laughed.

"Don't touch anything on the console, you might send us off somewhere we don't want to be." He warned.

"So you really do time travel?" Lyserg asked, barely masked hostility in his voice. Hao nodded. "Then tell me, if you've really changed, why don't you go back and stop yourself from killing all those people?"

"Because I won't allow it." The Doctor poked his head out of a hole in the floor and levered himself up. "Time travel has rules and one of those rules is not to mess with history unless it's something you know is not supposed to happen." He explained.

"You could save so many lives, and you won't allow it?" The Doctor watched him with an unreadable person. "You are obviously a cold, heartless man, I can see why Hao likes you, you both care nothing for the people around you and will never feel grief or sorrow." He spat. The Doctor's face dropped into an angry scowl and his eyes seemed to gather thunderclouds. Lyserg took a step back.

"Don't lecture me about what you don't understand child." The Doctor said in a low voice. "You lost your parents, I lost my entire species, I'm the only one left. Do you really think that I have never wanted to go back and prevent that? I know all about grief boy, so get off your high-horse." With that he turned and staked away into the recesses of the TARDIS. Hao watched him go with a concerned look and excused himself to walk outside the TARDIS.

After a moment he came back in with Lupe, who immediately set off after the Doctor with a worried look on her face.

"Congratulations, you managed to piss off one of the most even tempered guys in the universe." Hao said tonelessly. "I think it's time for you guys to go." He finished. "I need to check and make sure he's alright." He took the teleporter from his pocket. The shamans grabbed hold of him and they teleported back under the bridge.

"Sorry it turned out this way." Yoh said, gently embracing Hao as his friends began to walk away.

"It's ok." Hao sighed. "These things happen." He let go of Yoh and waved goodbye. Just as he was about to teleport back, Keiko cupped his chin and kissed his forehead. Hao looked at her in surprise.

"Goodbye, my son." She murmured before following the other shamans away.

"Goodbye, Kaa-san."

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	15. Chapter 15

Wolf: I own nothing.

Capture

Yoh and his friends walked back into the house after seeing Torchwood. His remaining family and the X-Laws were in the living room talking. They stopped when they saw Yoh standing there. Yoh just shrugged and went upstairs. The others went about their business, except Lyserg, who went and sat down with the others.

"So, where did you go?" Marco asked.

"Yoh took us to meet Hao. He then took us to a place called Torchwood." Lyserg explained. "They are allied with Hao."

"Then they shall have to be destroyed as well." Lady Jeanne said. "Where is this Torchwood?"

"I don't know, we were teleported in." Lyserg replied. "But, I did find out something that may be of use to us. Hao seems to have grown attached to his brother Yoh."

"We can use that against him, and kill two birds with one stone." Mikihisa shifted uncomfortably at the implication. Yohmei gave him a sharp look.

"We all knew it could come to this." Mikihisa nodded.

"We cannot let Keiko know, she has been fooled by Hao as well, and may oppose us." Lyserg cautioned. They nodded in understanding.

"We must put this into action as soon as possible." Lady Jeanne sighed. "Soon the world will be free of Hao's evil forever."

~~~~~***~~~~~

Yoh woke up early the next morning to start breakfast. He went downstairs where he was confronted by Lyserg. He smiled.

"Hey Lyserg, you're up-" Yoh's words were cut off by a pistol being jammed in his open mouth. He let out a strangled, choking noise of surprise and froze when Lyserg's finger tightened on the trigger.

"Move and I'll blow your head off." Lyserg's voice was cold and dangerous. Yoh trembled slightly as Lyserg moved around him, keeping the gun in his mouth, and twisted his arm behind his back painfully.

Lyserg led Yoh into the living room. Yoh stared in shock at his father and grandfather as he was forced to sit in a chair. Marco handcuffed his hands behind him and tied a rope around his middle. He then tied his ankles to the legs of the chair. The gun was removed from his mouth to be replaced by a knotted cloth tied tight around his head, the knot stuffed in his mouth.

"Take his phone." Marco ordered. Yoh struggled vainly, letting out soft, muffled grunts as Lyserg searched his pockets. He handed Yoh's phone to Marco.

"How long before he tries to call you, I wonder." Marco smirked at Yoh, who only stared at him in horror.

"Hey Yoh, what's for...what's going on?" Horohoro stared in confusion at the scene in front of him. "What are you doing to him?" Horohoro tried to move forward but his way was blocked by Yohmei's leaf sprites.

"Mikihisa, Tou-san, what are you doing?" Keiko and the rest of Yoh's friends had come down and were staring in confusion at Yoh. Yoh gave them all helpless looks.

"Don't worry Keiko, he's only the bait." Yohmei said dispassionately. "Now, move along." The order in his voice was clear and, with one last pained look at Yoh, the friends left and went into the kitchen.

"They're lying." Anna snarled, struggling against tears. "They're going to kill him along with Hao."

"We need to get a hold of Hao-"

"They have Yoh's cellphone." The shamans' shoulders drooped in defeat.

"Then, what do we do?"

"Hope for a miracle."

~~~~~***~~~~~

It was early afternoon before the phone rang. Yoh jerked and began to struggle in vain once more. Marco flipped the phone open with a triumphant smirk and placed it against his ear.

**'Hey otouto, you'll never guess where I've been.'**

"This is not your _otouto._" Marco said in a snide voice. There was silence for a moment.

**'What have you done to him?' **Hao asked in a low voice.

"Nothing, yet. And if you want to keep it that way, you'll do exactly as I say."

**'What do you want?'**

"You will come, alone, to the graveyard in the middle of the park at seven tonight. If you do not, we will kill your brother, understand?"

**'I understand.'**

"Good." Marco said savagely and then hung up.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao listened to the dial tone for a moment before the phone slipped from his nerveless fingers. _'They're going to kill Yoh!' _He knew he couldn't tell anyone. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he thought of all the friends he had here that would be upset, in particular the Doctor and Lupe. But he had no choice. He grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and began to write them a note.

_My friends,_

_I'm sorry to do this to you all, but I have no other options. They'll kill Yoh if I don't go. I'm going to die tonight, but if that's what it takes for them to leave my brother alone, so be it. Tell the twins I've gone to be with the angels. Doctor, Lupe, thank you, for everything. I'm so, so sorry._

_Hao_

~~~~~***~~~~~

Yoh's friends and mother stared helplessly at the scene in front of him. Yoh was being held up by his father, gasping, his blood staining the white snow. Marco stood in front of him, holding Harusame, which was dripping more blood.

"I'll ask you again, where is Torchwood?" Yoh refused to answer. Marco growled and carved another bloody furrow in Yoh's chest, making him scream in agony.

"STOP IT!!" They all turned at the sound of Hao's anguished scream. Hao ran into the graveyard, face a mask of grief and pain. Marco discarded Harusame and took out his pistol, pointing it at Yoh's head. Hao stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hands above your head." Hao complied immediately. Marco nodded at Lyserg. Lyserg moved and slammed Hao in the side of his head with his pistol. Hao went down like a ton of bricks. Lyserg knelt beside him, digging his knee into Hao's back, and cuffed his hands behind him. Hao was then roughly hauled to his feet by his hair.

He looked at Yoh, pain in his eyes. Yoh was beginning to sag in his father's grip, breath coming in pained gasps, deep, bloody cuts criss-crossing his chest and stomach.

"Ok, you've got me, now let Yoh go." They just looked at him blankly. "Please! He needs a doctor." Hao pleaded, panic welling up inside him.

"We cannot do that Hao." Lady Jeanne said calmly. "Yoh is, as you have said many times, your other half. We cannot risk you using him to stay alive."

Hao watched in horror as one of Shamash's arms formed an axe.

"He dies first." Lady Jeanne said softly. Hao began to struggle in earnest.

"He's your son!" He shouted at Mikihisa, tears spilling down his cheeks. "Are you really going to let them do this?!" Mikihisa gave no indication that he had heard, but simply tipped Yoh forwards so that his neck was exposed to the axe. Yoh's head dangled limply but he managed to look over at Hao with dark, glassy eyes filled with pain and sorrow. Hao's knees gave out and he sank to the ground as Shamash prepared to kill his brother.

"I'm so sorry Yoh." He whispered as the blade swished through the air.

* * *

Wolf: He he, I'm so cruel. Review plz! 


	16. Chapter 16

Wolf: Onwards! I own nothing!

Saved

Hao stared as the blade whistled through the air. Just as it was about to sever Yoh's head from his body a blast of pure energy drove Shamash back. Hao stared as Yami marched into the cemetery, carrying a gun that looked a bit like a rocket launcher with a larger barrel and that pulsed with energy.

More figures raced into the cemetery, carrying various weapons. Hao recognised Jack, Gwen, Don, Rose and Mickey among them. All the sudden a white blur ran at Lyserg, teeth bared in a menacing snarl. Lyserg took one look at the furious wolf and backed off, letting go of Hao.

"Good girl, good girl." Hao said as Lupe whined and nuzzled at him. Hao felt someone grab him by the handcuffs and began to fight.

"Easy, easy." Hao relaxed at the sound of the Doctor's voice. The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to free Hao while the battle raged around them. Most of the Torchwood rescuers were busy keeping Shamash back, while Yoh's friends battled it out with the rest of the shamans.

Suddenly Hao saw something that made his heart stop. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Marco was making his way over to where Yoh lay on the ground, bleeding and panting weakly, with the bloodstained Harusame in his hand. Hao didn't think, he just ran.

He got to Yoh just as Marco brought the sword down to stab him. Hao let out a bark of pain as the sword instead stabbed into his shoulder, and, skittering across the bone, carved a deep furrow into his chest.

Marco grabbed Hao by the front of his shirt and threw him into the middle of the cemetery. Hao sprawled on his back and watched helplessly as Marco came towards him, throwing away Harusame and taking out his pistol.

"This ends now." He hissed, cocking the gun.

There was a bellowing roar that sounded more like an angry lion than a wolf and Marco was struck in the side. He went down and Lupe planted her paws on his chest, preventing him from moving. She snarled into his face, sharp fangs just inches from his eyes.

Hao tried to get to his feet, but the crippling pain forced him back to his knees. So instead he crawled, blood dripping onto the snow, over to where his brother lay.

He was barely aware that he was sobbing, or that he was crying his brother's name over and over. It didn't register that the battle had stopped, no, all that mattered was getting to Yoh.

He knelt beside his brother and cradled him in his lap. Yoh turned to look at him with half-closed, pain-dulled eyes. His lips moved, but there was no sound.

"Shh, it's ok, it's going to be ok Yoh." Hao murmured softly, tears falling down his face. Yoh's eyelids began to slip completely closed, eyes rolling back and body going completely limp.

"Yoh? Yoh, no, stay with me. Stay with me Yoh. YOH!" He screamed as Yoh's body went completely limp in his arms. Tears streaming down his cheeks he tried to wake Yoh up.

He screamed when someone grabbed him and lifted him away from Yoh. He struggled, wanting to get back to Yoh. He felt the prick of a needle and his mind began to go foggy.

"Otouto." He whimpered before surrendering to darkness.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao woke up slowly, pain dully throbbing in his chest. He could hear soft beeps and the sound of a machine pumping air in regular intervals. He opened his eyes and winced at the bright light, whimpering softly. He heard a soft gasp and the sound of footsteps.

"Hao? Hao, are you awake?" Hao opened his eyes and stared into the concerned faces of Anna, Horohoro and Ren.

"Where am I?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"You're in the Torchwood medical bay." Anna answered. "You've been out almost a day."

"Yoh?"

"He's alive, but he had lost a lot of blood and had gone into shock." Horohoro explained. "Martha and Yugi say it will take time for him to recover." Hao closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, tears slowly leaking out from under his closed lids. He felt a hand on his good shoulder and opened his eyes.

"He's been in situations like this before and has always come through." Ren told him softly.

"Yeah dude, Yoh's tougher than you'd expect, have faith in him." Horohoro said. Hao nodded and felt his eyelids try and slip closed. He fought it until Anna put a hand on his head.

"Rest, you need it. We'll watch over Yoh." Hao nodded and allowed himself to slip back into darkness once more.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao woke up and sat up carefully. He turned his head and froze. Yoh was lying in a bed next to him, bandages covering his chest and an oxygen mask over his face. All the sudden he was enveloped in a gentle, warm hug. He turned slightly to find his mother smiling at him tenderly.

"Kaa-san..?" Hao asked in a bewildered tone. Keiko lightly kissed him on the forehead.

"Yes Hao, I'm here, and you're all right, thank heavens." Keiko said.

"Wh-What happened to the X-Laws and the others?" Hao asked.

"They are currently being held in the holding cells in this Hub." Keiko answered. "We don't know what's going to happen to them yet." Hao nodded and then shifted his body so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed.

He placed his feet on the floor and stood up. Keiko supported him as he wavered unsteadily. Carefully, slowly he made his way over to Yoh's side, lowering himself into a chair. He took one of Yoh's hands in his and softly rubbed the skin.

"Wake up Yoh, wake up." He whispered, watching the steady rise and fall of Yoh's chest. Keiko placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He'll wake up, just give him time." Hao nodded, resolving not to leave Yoh's side until he woke up.

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	17. Chapter 17

Wolf: This story will be coming to an end soon! I own nothing but the plot so let's get to it!

Mikihisa sat in his holding cell, thoughts tormented. It had been three days since they had almost killed both his sons. When he closed his eyes he could see Yoh's blood staining the snow and hear Hao's cries for his brother. _'Where did it all go wrong? When did we become the bad guys?' _He tugged absentmindedly at the collar around his neck. It prevented him from using his shamanic abilities to get heard the door to the holding area opened and looked up to see Jack wander in, checking to make sure everyone was still there. In a split second Mikihisa made a decision.

"I want to see my sons." He said, standing up and placing his hands on the clear wall of the cell. Jack turned and looked at him in surprise.

"If he's getting to go out, so am I." Yohmei growled. The X-Laws echoed him. Jack held up a finger for silence and tapped his headset.

"Hey Atem, the detainees want to have a walk-around."

"**It may be good for them to get some exercise. Just give me a moment to send someone down to help you, and oh, cuff them." **

"You got it." Jack turned to the shamans with a grin. "Well, it's your lucky day, the boss has given you permission for a little fieldtrip." A moment later Don came down and Rose came down. The three of them handcuffed the shamans' hands in front of them and led them upstairs.

Mikihisa stopped short, staring in shock, as he was led into the medical bay. Yoh was still unconscious, oxygen mask dominating most of his pale face. But that wasn't what surprised Mikihisa; it was the sight of Hao sitting in a chair, head resting on Yoh's hospital bed as he slept, that shocked him.

"He's actually sleeping?" Rose asked, moving to Hao's side.

"Guess his body finally gave into exhaustion." Don answered in a low voice. Mikihisa slowed moved over to Hao. Jack watched him, one hand over his holster, but made no move to stop him. Mikihisa lowered himself into a chair next to Hao.

From his new vantage point he could see that Hao had one hand clasped around Yoh's. He could also see that Hao's eyelids were swollen and there were dark circles around his eyes. Something on Hao's upper arm caught his attention and he awkwardly turned over Hao's free hand and pulled the sleeve of his shirt down. He traced the scars with his thumb and let out a small sigh.

"We have been fools." He said softly.

"WHAT?!" Yohmei yelled. Hao jerked slightly in his sleep. "Have you lost your mind?" He hissed.

"He's barely sleeping, he's been crying, this is not the behaviour of a monster." Mikihisa said quietly. "Can you not see it?"

"No." Yohmei growled.

"Then you are stupid as well as stubborn." Yohmei turned and stared in shock as Kino made her way into the room.

"Kino, when did you get here?" Yohmei asked.

"The other day." was the short reply. "Keiko called me up, in tears, telling me you had tried to kill our grandsons."

"We no longer have grandsons, they are aligned with darkness." Yohmei growled. Kino whacked him over the head with her walking stick.

"How is it that I am blind and yet I can see more than you can?" She asked him. "At least our son has some sense." She grumbled, going to sit beside Mikihisa.

"You cannot be serious Kino." Yohmei said.

"I am, and hush. This is the first time in days that he has actually gone to sleep." Kino said, rubbing Hao's head. "He told me when I came that he did not expect to be forgiven for what he has done, he only wished to tell me that he was so sorry what he had done and the pain he had caused." Kino murmured softly.

"And you believed him?" Yohmei asked in disbelief.

"I heard his tears and felt the scars that in his pain he had carved into his skin, so yes, I do believe him."

"So another has been seduced by Hao's evil." Marco commented. Hao shifted in his sleep, letting out a low moan. Kino turned her sightless eyes to Jack.

"They're going to wake him up, get him out of here." She said. Jack nodded and he, Don and Rose rounded up the shamans.

"Wait, wait." Mikihisa pleaded when Jack came to get him. "Please, may I stay here?" Jack gave him a speculative look and then raised an eyebrow at Kino.

"I can take care of him if he tries anything." Kino growled. Jack laughed.

"I have no doubts about that."

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao slowly became aware that there was someone tenderly stroking his hair. He opened his eyes and lifted his head. He gasped as he stared into the tired eyes of his brother.

"Otouto?" He whispered in disbelief. Yoh curled his fingers around the hand that was holding his, squeezing lightly. Hao's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault." He lowered his head and sobbed. He felt hands gently touch his face and looked up into his brother's concerned eyes. Yoh shook his head quietly. He lifted one hand and grasped the oxygen mask on his face. He pulled it down and spoke.

"You're wrong, it's not your fault. They chose their path, I do not blame you for that." Hao whimpered softly.

"I thought I'd lost you." He whispered, reaching up to clasp the hand on his face with his own. Yoh smiled at him softly. "I-I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you otouto."

"You mean that?" Yoh asked, struggling to sit up despite the pain this caused. Hao nodded and reached out to touch Yoh's face.

"With all my heart." Yoh closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.

"I love you too onii-chan." He whispered. He looked into Hao's haggard face. "You look awful." Hao smiled sadly.

"I've been worried about you." He replied. "I promise, from now on I'm going to be a proper big brother. I'm going to protect you, make sure you don't get hurt again." Yoh smiled, eyelids beginning to droop again. "You're still healing otouto, you should rest." Yoh smiled sleepily.

"You need to rest too." He replied. He crooked his fingers at Hao. "Come here." Hao climbed into Yoh's hospital bed, careful not to dislodge the IV in his arm. Yoh lay back down and wrapped his arms around Hao, snuggling into his chest. Hao wrapped his own arms around Yoh, listening to his breathing become slower and deeper. Hao felt his own eyelids droop closed as he followed his brother into slumber.

"Goodnight otouto."

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	18. Chapter 18

Wolf: Almost done folks, I'll be sorry to see this one go. Oh, and I rewrote chapter 13 because I realised I accidently replaced it and so had two chapter 12s (sheepish grin). And, I also rewrote chapter 15 because I deleted it accidently. I think the rewrite is better than the original anyways. Anyways, I own nothing but the plot and my ocs!

Yoh woke up to a warm weight pressed against his chest. He opened bleary black eyes and lifted his head slightly to smile at the sight of Hao sleeping peacefully against him.

"Yoh?" His head jerked up at the soft voice. His eyes widened at the sight of his mother standing in the doorway and he smiled.

"Kaa-san..." He whispered, carefully sitting up in a way that wouldn't disturb Hao's slumber. Keiko smiled and came to sit beside the two of them.

"You're awake." She said happily, brushing Yoh's bangs off his face. Yoh smiled at her. Hao moaned softly in his sleep and wrapped his arms around Yoh's chest. Keiko chuckled softly.

"He hasn't left your side since he woke up." She told Yoh. "He really loves you."

"I know." Yoh said softly as Hao began to stir.

"Yoh?" A hesitant voice said from the doorway. Yoh looked up and frowned in confusion at the unfamiliar man standing there. He had long chestnut hair in a ponytail, a thin angular face and glasses over onyx eyes. Yoh's eyes shifted to the red, faded burn scar on the side of his face and gasped.

"Tou-san..?" Yoh asked in disbelief. He heard a small gasp from below him. Hao was awake and staring with wide eyes at Mikihisa. The look on his face turned from surprise to guilt and sorrow as he stared at the scar, the scar that he gave his father. He put his head down, a curtain of dark hair hiding his face.

Mikihisa calmly walked over and placed one hand on Hao's cheek. Sighing softly as he felt wetness on his palm he turned Hao's head so that he was looking him in the eyes. Hao's eyes were overflowing with tears.

"No more tears." Mikihisa said softly, using his thumb to wipe them away. "Let the past be past." Hao looked up at him.

"I don't understand." He whimpered. "How can you-"

"None of that, my son." Mikihisa gently admonished. "We forgive you because we too want to start over, to be a family." He explained. "Yoh is the wisest of us. He saw the humanity in you when all we ever saw was the monster. He saw the pain, and now we see it too. We understand now, that's why we forgive."

Hao felt overwhelmed by all this and put his head in his hands to cry once more. Yoh wrapped his arms around his brother and just held him as he cried in loud, gasping sobs.

"Oh, is this a bad time?" Jack asked sheepishly. Hao attempted to regain his composure.

"No, Jack, I'm ok."

"Alright, there's someone here to see you guys." Jack stepped aside to reveal Silva.

"Silva!" Yoh called delightedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Your parents asked me to come, they said they had questions for me." Silva answered, looking at Mikihisa and Keiko questioningly.

"Ah, yes. This whole matter with the X-Laws. We were wondering if the Patch council should get involved in deciding what should be done with them."

"I don't think you want to involve them in this." Silva said slowly.

"Why is that?" Keiko asked.

"Because they do not know Hao is still living and will likely want to punish him for his...crimes." Silva finished quietly, seeing Hao lower his head once again. "I will not say anything however." Silva continued quickly. "I saw Hao jump in the river after Anna, that is what has changed my mind about him, and if the council ever does get wind, I will be there to defend the Asakura family." He bowed. "It is good to see you well again Yoh." Yoh smiled at him. Silva nodded to the rest of the Asakuras and then left.

Yoh tried to suppress a yawn unsuccessfully. He felt his eyelids beginning to droop. Hao squeezed his hand gently.

"Go to sleep otouto, you need to rest to heal." Yoh nodded dozily and lay back down. He wrapped his arms tight around Hao as though he were a teddy bear and nuzzled into his chest. Hao sighed in contentment and closed his eyes. He felt both his parents gently ruffle his hair before walking out, leaving the two of them to their rest.

~~~~~***~~~~~

Hao made sure that Yoh was sleeping deeply. When he was sure he wouldn't wake his brother he carefully slipped from Yoh's grasp and wandered out of the medical bay. As he entered the main area of the hub he was immediately bowled over by Lupe.

"Hallelujah! He has emerged." Lupe laughed and nipped his nose briefly. Her tail was wagging a mile a minute and her ears twitched erratically in her excitement. Hao laughed softly and hugged her.

"I never thanked you." He said softly.

"For what?" Lupe cocked her head at him.

"For coming for me, for not giving up on me." Lupe smiled gently.

"We're your friends Hao. We'll always come for you, no matter what." Hao smiled. He then moved around her and headed in the direction of the holding cells.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked, putting himself in Hao's path.

"There's something I need to take care of." The Doctor looked into Hao's eyes. After a moment he nodded and stepped aside.

"Good luck."

Hao walked down the stairs to the cells slowly, gut clenching in nervousness. He could have asked one of his friends to come with him, but he felt he needed to do this alone.

"So, the monster has finally come to kill us." Marco said as Hao came into the holding area. Hao shook his head slowly.

"I'm not here to kill you." Hao said quietly.

"Oh? Then why did you come down here?" Yohmei snarled.

"I came to say that I forgive you." Hao replied. Silence met his words.

"You, forgive us? For what?" Lyserg demanded.

"For almost killing Yoh." Hao replied.

"And why, pray tell, would we want forgiveness for a righteous act?" Lady Jeanne asked calmly. "It was necessary."

"No, it wasn't. He's not the one you hate, it's me, so he should never have been dragged into this."

"That was his own fault. He chose this path." Yohmei growled. A flicker of anger went through Hao's eyes momentarily.

"No, it's your fault for not believing in him." He countered. "You say you hate me for hurting the ones you love, but how is this any different?" He turned to walk away.

"Maybe you should think about whether or not this is what you really wanted to become."

* * *

Wolf: Review plz!


	19. Chapter 19

Wolf: This is it, the final chapter folks. I had a good time with this one, it's sad that it is ending. But, be sure to be on the lookout for new adventures involving Lupe and the Doctor soon! I own nothing but the plot and my crazy little ocs, enjoy!

Yoh felt someone shaking him gently.

"Five more minutes.." He mumbled, turning over and grabbing his pillow. A low laugh greeted his words.

"Come on otouto, wake up." Yoh opened his eyes and looked up at his grinning brother.

"What is it onii-chan?" Yoh asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Yugi said you're cleared to leave the medical bay." Hao replied, bouncing a little in excitement. Yoh watched him in amusement.

"Is there anything else going on? Because you seem way too excited." Hao's grin just grew wider.

"You'll have to get up and out of bed to find out." Yoh grumbled a little but got out of the hospital bed. Hao helped him get into some new clothes and then grabbed his wrist, leading him out of the medical bay.

Hao led him out into the main room of the Hub. Yoh blinked at the sight of the couple dozen people wandering around.

"Otouto, meet Torchwood." Yoh looked at him in surprise. Hao smiled and led him further into the room, drawing the attention of the assembled people. The first to come greet him was an older blond woman who automatically gave him a hug.

"Hello plum, I'm Jackie, you must be Yoh." Yoh nodded. "Your brother's been very worried about you, he's such a sweetheart." Yoh saw Hao flush slightly.

"I know he is." Yoh smiled at his brother. Jackie took his arm.

"Come, I'll introduce you to my daughter and her husband." Yoh allowed himself to be led over to a young blond woman and a man that looked exactly like the Doctor.

"You must be Rose and Don." Yoh said, shaking their hands. "My brother told me about you two." Don and Rose grinned at him happily. "It's a little odd to think that you're a clone." He commented.

"Most people say that, but we are two different people." Don said. "We're just...extremely similar."

"I see that." Yoh laughed. Hao yelled for him and he looked to see Hao talking to a tall black man, an older brunette woman and a petite black woman. Yoh trotted over.

"Otouto this is Sarah Jane, Martha and Mickey." Yoh said hello to the two of them.

"You two travelled with the Doctor, right?" The three of them nodded. "Onii-chan's always telling me such exciting stories, was it that way with you?" They laughed.

"Oh, yes, always a new adventure." Sarah Jane smiled.

"We were always getting into some kind of trouble." Martha laughed.

"It was never dull, that's for sure." Mickey added. Yoh chatted with them for a minute more before Hao dragged him away to introduce him to more people. When he was done he found himself in a conversation with Ianto, Jack and Gwen about shamanic abilities and traditional shaman duties.

"Hang on, so what are you all doing here?" Yoh finally asked. "You can't have all just come to meet me." They smiled at him.

"Well, that was part of the reason." Jack started.

"But, the rest of it was that we all wanted to be here when we made the decision on what to do with the people who tried to kill you and Hao." Gwen explained.

"You guys really like Hao, don't you?"

"He's sort of the little brother of the group, you could say." Ianto shrugged. "He's a good kid." Yoh looked over to where Hao was holding Adjo and talking with Yugi and smiled.

"Yeah, he is."

There was a bang and Yoh looked up to see the Doctor and Lupe leading his parents, grandmother and friends into the Hub. They saw him and he was immediately surrounded, getting hugs and pats on the back.

"Excellent, now that everyone is here, we can get started." Atem said, coming up behind the shamans. Valon, Raphael, Joey and Alistair left the room, heading down to where the holding cells were.

The X-Laws and Yohmei were brought up in handcuffs.

"So, going to kill us now?" Yohmei snarled, glaring at Hao. Hao tensed and then felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He looked up and his father smiled at him.

"No, we're not going to kill you, though it would make life simpler." Jack said with a lazy smile.

"Then what, pray tell, are you going to do with us?" Lady Jeanne asked. "And furthermore, what gives you the right to pass judgement on us?"

"We have put Hao under the protection of Torchwood, which is a governmental organization." Atem explained. "We have jurisdiction to pass out judgement on those that harm anyone under our protection." He let this sink in. "Basically, we have the power to do whatever we like with you."

"So, what are you going to do?" Lyserg asked, eyes narrowing.

"We were going to retcon all of you, but we ran into complications with that." Ianto said.

"What, pray tell, is retcon?" Marco snarled.

"It's a pill that erases memories." Mickey explained. "We were going to use it to erase the memory of these last few days from you, but since your grudge goes back years, we could not guarantee that you would not try to go after the Asakura family again, and decided to forgo that idea."

"Kino hit on a good idea when she came here." Jack said with a wide grin. "She offered to house you all at Izumo until further notice."

"You mean, you're putting us on house arrest?!" Yohmei cried.

"Essentially, yes." Atem replied. "Kino, Mikihisa and Keiko have agreed to this. We will be making sure to check in at least once a day."

"This is ridiculous!" Yohmei said as he and the X-Laws were led back down to the cells.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Hao asked Kino. She snorted at him.

"I may be old but I can still kick some ass. Besides, those collars prevent them from using their powers, we'll be fine." He smiled at her.

"So you're going back to Izumo then?" Yoh asked his parents in disappointment.

"Until our 'guests' get settled in, yes." Keiko replied, hugging him.

Hao was tapped on the shoulder and he turned around to look down into Lupe's smiling face.

"It's time to go home." She said quietly. Hao looked back at his family and sighed.

"Okay." He said reluctantly. Lupe laughed softly.

"No, I mean it's time for you to go home." She said, turning him so that he was facing his family.

"You mean...? But what about you and the Doctor?" Hao asked.

"We'll manage." The Doctor said lightly. "We always did. Besides, you belong with your family." Hao smiled at the two of them.

"I guess then this is goodbye?" The Doctor snorted.

"It's not as though we'll never see you again, we'll still come around, and if you don't want Torchwood stalking you, you'll visit too."

"I will, I promise." Hao told them. "Thank you, and goodbye for now, I guess."

"Well then, go on." The Doctor gave him a gentle push. Hao took a deep breath and joined his family.

"Hey onii-chan." Yoh said, giving him a quick hug. "Come to say goodbye before we go?" Hao shook his head.

"I already said my goodbyes." He replied. Yoh looked at him confused for a moment before comprehension dawned.

"You mean...you're...you're coming back with us?" Yoh asked.

"If you want me to." Hao said. Yoh's face split into a huge grin and he tightly hugged Hao.

"Hey everyone! Hao's coming home with us!" The shamans crowded around, babbling excitedly.

Hao looked up from the knot of his family and friends to see Lupe and the Doctor headed for the TARDIS. They saw him looking and waved. Hao waved back. Everyone looked up as the TARDIS disappeared. Yoh took Hao's hand.

"I guess that means no more adventures, huh?"

"I wouldn't say that. Having a family will be an interesting adventure for me." Hao replied. He squeezed Yoh's hand.

"Let's go home."

**THE END!**

Wolf: Well there you have it guys. I say this all the time but I am deeply thankful for all the reviews and encouragement in making this story. Love you all!


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